Happy New Year 2025

Tag: confirm

Russia says US relations ‘on the brink of a breakup,’ won’t confirm Trump-Putin talk

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime suggested relations between Washington, D.C., and Moscow are on “the brink” of collapse this week.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov made the announcement during a Monday press conference. Ryabkov reiterated Putin’s stance that there would be no peace in Ukraine unless the country dropped its ambitions to join NATO and ceded Russian-occupied regions.

“We simply imperatively need to get … the new U.S. administration to understand and acknowledge that without resolving the problems that are the root causes of the crisis in Ukraine, it will not be possible to reach an agreement,” Ryabkov said.

While President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he has spoken to Putin, a spokesman for the Russian leader declined to confirm the call this week.

ZELENSKYY WANTS NUKES OR NATO; TRUMP SPECIAL ENVOY KELLOGG SAYS ‘SLIM AND NONE’ CHANCE

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime says relations with the U.S. are on the “brink” of a breakup. (Left: Evan Vucci/AP / Right: Photo by VYACHESLAV PROKOFYEV/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday that he expects to have “many more conversations. We have to get that war ended.”

“I hate to see all these young people being killed. The soldiers are being killed by the hundreds of thousands,” he added.

TRUMP’S FOURTH WEEK IN OFFICE COULD INCLUDE MEETING WITH ZELENSKYY, IRONING OUT STEEL DEAL

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is preparing to meet with Vice President JD Vance at the Munich Security Conference later this week after confirming on Friday he is ready to “do a deal” with President Donald Trump.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy President of Ukraine talks with media during a European Council Meeting. (Pier Marco Tacca/Getty Images)

According to an interview with Reuters, Zelenskyy said he was ready to supply the U.S. with rare-earth minerals in exchange for Washington’s continued backing of its war effort.

“If we are talking about a deal, then let’s do a deal, we are only for it,” Zelenskyy said.

The Ukrainian president has made clear he is also open to engaging in peace talks with Russia to end the three-year-long war, though possible terms for securing a peace deal remain varied and unknown.

A view of destroyed armored vehicles and tanks belonging to Russian forces after they withdrew from the city of Lyman in the Donetsk region of Ukraine. (Metin Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Though Zelenskyy has said he is looking for “guarantees” when it comes to future security assurances for the war-torn country.

These security assurances will likely need to be more than a formal handshake paired with a signed document, as Russia has twice violated its last agreement with Ukraine, known as the 1994 Budapest Memorandum.

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Zelenskyy apparently first floated the idea of trading Ukraine’s mineral resources – roughly 20% of which are located in now Russian-controlled territory, including half of the rare-earth variety – under his “victory plan” first presented to Western allies last fall, reported Reuters.

Anders Hagstrom is a reporter with Fox News Digital covering national politics and major breaking news events. Send tips to [email protected], or on Twitter: @Hagstrom_Anders.

February 11, 2025
Lisa Murkowski and Bill Cassidy indicate they vote to confirm Tulsi Gabbard

Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Bill Cassidy, R-La., both announced that they would vote to confirm former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard to serve as Director of National Intelligence.

In a party-line vote on Monday, Murkowski, Cassidy, and the other Republican senators who voted opted to move forward with the confirmation process by supporting cloture, while the members of the Senate Democratic caucus who voted opposed cloture.

“I will vote to confirm Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence,” Murkowski declared in a post on X.

TRUMP NOMINEE TULSI GABBARD CLEARS LAST HURDLE, HEADS FOR FINAL CONFIRMATION VOTE

Left: Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, June 1, 2023; Center: U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be Director of National Intelligence, former U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard from Hawaii, leaves a meeting with Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, at the Hart Senate Office Building on Dec. 18, 2024 on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.; Right: U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., attends a press conference at the U.S. Capitol on Aug. 5, 2022 in Washington, D.C. (Left: Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images; Center: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images; Right: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

“While I continue to have concerns about certain positions she has previously taken, I appreciate her commitment to rein in the outsized scope of the agency, while still enabling the ODNI to continue its essential function in upholding national security,” the senator continued.

“As she brings independent thinking and necessary oversight to her new role, I am counting on her to ensure the safety and civil liberties of American citizens remain rigorously protected.”

Murkowski voted against confirming Pete Hegseth to serve as Defense Secretary last month.

JOHN FETTERMAN REVEALS HOW HE’LL VOTE ON TRUMP’S TULSI GABBARD AND RFK JR. NOMINATIONS

“President Trump chose Tulsi Gabbard to be his point person on foreign intelligence,” Cassidy said in a statement. “I will trust President Trump on this decision and vote for her confirmation.”

Gabbard, who served in Congress from early 2013 to early 2021, announced in 2022 that she was leaving the Democratic Party.

THE CONFIRMATION JUGGERNAUT: HOW TRUMP IS GETTING EVERYTHING HE WANTS IN BUILDING HIS CABINET

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Last year she backed Trump in the 2024 presidential contest and announced she was joining the Republican Party.

Alex Nitzberg is a writer for Fox News Digital.

February 11, 2025
Trump-aligned group putting pressure on Republican senators in push to confirm RFK Jr.

A newly formed outside group aligned with President Donald Trump says it’s taking aim at Republican senators who remain undecided on Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as it pushes to confirm Trump’s Health and Human Services secretary.

Patient First Coalition (PFC), a nonprofit advocacy group launched last week, says it’s now beginning what it describes as a “massive grassroots effort” to encourage Republican senators to support Kennedy, the vaccine skeptic and environmental crusader who ran for the White House in 2024 before ending his bid and endorsing Trump.

Kennedy survived back-to-back combustible Senate confirmation hearings last week, where Trump’s nominee to lead 18 powerful federal agencies that oversee the nation’s food and health faced plenty of verbal fireworks over past controversial comments, including his repeated claims in recent years linking vaccines to autism, which have been debunked by scientific research.

TRUMP HEALTH SECRETARY NOMINEE RFK JR. SURVIVES HEATED HEARINGS

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testifies during his Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing on Jan. 29, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Getty Images)

The move by PFC, which says it’s a collective group of organizations committed to advancing Kennedy’s so-called “Make America Healthy Again” agenda, comes ahead of Tuesday’s key confirmation vote by the Senate Finance Committee.

“All uncommitted Republican Senators will be targeted in this grassroots effort,” PFC highlighted.

Shannon Burns, the group’s senior advisor, shared that “our grassroots phase will include television, radio and podcast interviews with our advisory board members, as well as guest columns in newspapers across the country.”

RFK’S CONFIRMATION HEARING QUICK GOES OFF THE RAILS

“We will enable thousands of calls and emails into Senate offices from millions of Americans who support this agenda. We want to organize them, mobilize them, and make sure their voices are heard before the Senate votes,” Burns added.

PFC pointed out that it will initially give “special focus” to GOP senators in Louisiana, Maine, Alaska, Kentucky and North Carolina.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. talks with Sen. Bill Cassidy following his testimony before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions on Capitol Hill, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey Jr.)

Those states are home to Sen. Bill Cassidy, the Louisiana physician and chair of the Senate Health Committee, Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who are often at odds with Trump, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the former longtime Senate Republican leader, and Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina.

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“Your past of undermining confidence in vaccines with unfounded or misleading arguments concerns me,” Cassidy told Kennedy at the end of Thursday’s confirmation hearing.

PFC is one of a handful of outside groups targeting GOP senators in the fight to confirm Trump’s nominees.

President Donald Trump talks to reporters in the Oval Office at the White House on Jan. 30, 2025. (Getty Images)

A source in Trump’s political orbit tells Fox News that those groups could “exact consequences” on Republican senators who don’t support the president’s Cabinet nominees.

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And Trump on Sunday took to social media to demand that Senate Republicans ‘GET TOUGH VERY FAST” in confirming the rest of his Cabinet.

Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in New Hampshire.

February 3, 2025
Republicans angered with GOP senator who says he’s ‘struggling’ to confirm RFK Jr

The top Republican on the Senate health committee, Sen. Bill Cassidy, faced criticism from fellow Republicans after he suggested his vote for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary is not a lock.

Cassidy, chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, said during closing remarks at Kennedy’s second confirmation hearing of the week that he was “struggling” to confirm the HHS secretary nominee over his inability to admit vaccines are safe and don’t cause autism. “A worthy movement called ‘MAHA,’” Cassidy said Thursday, “to improve the health of Americans, or to undermine it, always asking for more evidence, and never accepting the evidence that is there … That is why I’ve been struggling with your nomination.”

GOP Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., did not hold back his anger over Cassidy’s remarks, saying, “RFK is going to run HHS whether you like it or not.” The post included a photo of Cassidy and Kennedy shaking hands at Thursday’s confirmation hearing.

TOP REPUBLICAN ON SENATE HEALTH COMMITTEE SAYS HE’S ‘STRUGGLING’ TO CONFIRM RFK JR

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., center, President Donald Trump’s nominee to serve as secretary of Health and Human Services, talks with Committee Chairman Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., left, following his testimony during a Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions hearing for his pending confirmation on Capitol Hill on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025 in Washington, D.C. ( AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

“The Senate is ours, and the moment Trump decides he’s had enough of random senators delaying our mission, JD [Vance] is walking in and taking the gavel as president of the Senate,” Higgins said. Vice President JD Vance would be the tie-breaking vote if the resulting tally goes along party lines and Cassidy and two other Republicans defect. Vance did so after GOP Sens. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine voted against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s nomination.

“There’s zero you can do about that,” Higgins said. “We, the people, will not be stopped. We’re saving the country and RFK is part of the formula. So, vote your conscience, senator, or don’t. Either way, we’re watching.”

TRUMP HEALTH SECRETARY NOMINEE RFK JR SURVIVES HEATED HEARINGS AHEAD OF CRUCIAL CONFIRMATION VOTES

GOP organizer and strategist Scott Presler said that if Cassidy did not vote for Kennedy, that he would “personally come to Louisiana” to organize a primary challenge against Cassidy in an effort to oust him. “We already have a home base in Iberia Parish,” Pressler said. Meanwhile, a chapter of the Louisiana Republican Assembly replied to Pressler’s threats, noting they were “ready to mobilize when needed.”

GOP Activist Scott Presler speaks to Republicans at a victory party following President Donald Trump’s election win that same month.

Charlie Kirk, another GOP organizer and activist who is also a close ally of President Donald Trump, shared a slightly more measured condemnation of Cassidy. “I believe this was a sincere moment from Chairman Bill Cassidy,” Kirk wrote in response to the senator’s closing remarks at Thursday’s hearing. However, Kirk added that he “respectfully” thinks that Cassidy “has this backwards.”

“Many already don’t trust vaccine manufacturers who enjoy legal immunity for any injuries they cause. Many already don’t trust our big food producers and the ingredients they use. Many already don’t trust big medicine, big hospitals, or big pharma,” Kirk said. “RFK Jr. has said repeatedly he’s pro-vaccine, but he’s willing to ask the same questions millions of parents are asking right now about ramped-up vaccine schedules, harmful ingredients, and a blind trust in the manufacturers that are enriched by government mandates, even after COVID.”

RFK JR RIPS DEM SENATOR FOR PUSHING ‘DISHONEST’ NARRATIVE ON PAST VACCINE COMMENTS: ‘CORRECTED IT MANY TIMES’

While Republicans were incensed by Cassidy’s remarks, the president of Advancing American Freedom (AAF), a conservative nonprofit founded by Trump’s former Vice President Mike Pence, applauded Cassidy’s critical approach to Kennedy’s nomination.

Then-Vice President Mike Pence receives a Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine shot at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building while still serving as vice president during President Donald Trump’s first term in office. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

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“It’s refreshing to see senators taking their advise and consent role seriously,” AAF President Tim Chapman said when asked about Cassidy’s comments. “We have separate branches of government for a reason, and nominees, such as RFK, who will be handling the largest amount of taxpayer dollars and controlling the federal response to the life issue deserve serious consideration. Every senator must treat this nominee with the same gravitas that Senator Cassidy is.”

Fox News Digital reached out to representatives for Cassidy but did not receive a response by publication time.

January 31, 2025
Caroline Kennedy says RFK Jr cheated his way through life, urges senators not to confirm

Caroline Kennedy, the only surviving child of President John F. Kennedy and a former U.S. ambassador, sent a letter to lawmakers urging them not to confirm her cousin Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who she referred to as a “predator” and said was “unqualified” both professionally and personally to be the next Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS).

RFK Jr. is set to sit before two Senate committees on Wednesday and Thursday this week, during which lawmakers will get a chance to probe him about various issues related to his nomination as Health and Human Services Secretary. In advance of those hearings, Caroline sent a letter to senators who will vote on her cousin’s confirmation, explaining why she thinks he should not be allowed to run the federal government’s chief public health agency.

“Throughout the past year people have asked for my thoughts about my cousin Robert F. Kennedy Jr and his presidential campaign. I did not comment, not only because I was serving in a government position as United States Ambassador to Australia, but because I have never wanted to speak publicly about my family members and their challenges,” Caroline said in a video posted online of her reading the letter. “But now that Bobby has been nominated by President Trump to be Secretary of Health and Human Services, a position that would put him in charge of the health of the American people, I feel an obligation to speak.”

TRUMP’S MOST VULNERABLE NOMINEES RFK JR, TULSI GABBARD GET BACK-TO-BACK HEARINGS

Caroline Kennedy speaks at the 2009 Women’s Conference held at Long Beach Convention Center on October 27, 2009, in Long Beach, California. (Photo by Toby Canham/Getty Images)

In addition to arguing her cousin lacked the relevant government, financial management and medical experience to fill the role of HHS Secretary, Caroline said her cousin’s personal qualities were also a disqualifying factor. In the letter, Caroline called her cousin a “predator,” arguing he has sought to exploit his family’s tragedies for publicity and led his siblings and cousins down a path of addiction.

“It’s no surprise that he keeps birds of prey as pets, because Bobby himself is a predator,” she said. “I watched his younger brothers and cousins follow him down the path of drug addiction. His basement, his garage, his dorm room were always the center of the action – where drugs were available and he enjoyed showing off how he put baby chickens and mice in a blender to feed to his hawks.”

DR NICOLE SAPHIER: WHAT RFK JR MUST DO TO WIN OVER SKEPTICAL SENATORS – AND AMERICANS

Caroline did concede that such moments were “a long time ago,” and that she admired her cousin for finding his way out of his addiction. “I admire the discipline that took,” she said. “But siblings and cousins who Bobby encouraged down the path of substance abuse suffered addiction, illness and death, while Bobby has gone on to misrepresent, lie and cheat his way through life.”

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., partner with Morgan & Morgan PA, is sworn-in during a House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government hearing in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, July 20, 2023. The committee chairman announced the hearing to examine the federal government’s role in censoring Americans and big tech silencing speech. Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images (Getty)

Caroline added in the letter that her cousin was “addicted to attention and power,” and also accused him of grandstanding “off my father’s assassination and that of his own father.”

“It’s incomprehensible to me that someone who is willing to exploit their own painful family tragedies for publicity would be put in charge of America’s life and death situations.”

She also took shots at her cousin’s views on vaccines in the letter, calling them “dangerous and willfully misinformed.” In the past, Kennedy has posited theories that vaccines cause autism, argued they are not safe for young children, and blamed them for a rise in chronic disease across the United States.

DOCTOR DEFENDS RFK JR.’S VACCINE STANCE: ‘HE’S NOT AGAINST VACCINES

“Bobby preys on the desperation of parents of sick children, vaccinating his own kids while building a following hypocritically discouraging other parents from vaccinating theirs,” she said. “Overseeing the FDA, the NIH, the CDC and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services agencies that are charged with protecting the most vulnerable among us is an enormous responsibility and one that Bobby is unqualified to fill.”

A woman holds a mock-up vial labeled “Monkeypox vaccine” and medical syringe in this illustration taken, May 25, 2022. (REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo)

RFK Jr.’s confirmation remains uncertain as both Republicans and Democrats have taken issue with his stance on vaccines and other public health issues. Lawmakers from more rural states have also raised concern over the potential that RFK Jr. could severely disrupt the agriculture sector as a result of his staunch views on healthy eating.

He will face questions from both the Senate Committee on Finance and the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions this week. However, only the Finance committee will ultimately vote on whether to advance RFK Jr.’s nomination to a full floor vote.

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January 29, 2025
Leavitt says egg shortage, grocery prices why Senate must ‘move swiftly’ to confirm Trump nominees

President Donald Trump’s White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt urged members of Congress to confirm Trump’s nominees to address problems like the U.S. egg shortage and the cost of living crisis.

“This is an example of why it’s so incredibly important that the Senate moves swiftly to confirm all of President Trump’s nominees, including his nominee for the United States Department of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins, who is already speaking with Kevin Hassett, who’s leading the economic team here at the White House, on how we can address the egg shortage in this country,” Leavitt told reporters Tuesday at her first White House press briefing.

“We also have seen the cost of everything, not just eggs, bacon, groceries, gasoline, have increased because of the inflationary policies of the last administration,” Leavitt said.

Leavitt’s comments came directly after Democrats took several jabs at Trump’s handling of the cost of living crisis just days after his inauguration, citing rising prices for eggs amid larger conversations about the price of groceries and cost of living as a whole.

While the consumer price index shows consumer prices increased roughly 20% under former President Joe Biden’s administration, Democrats remain skeptical that Trump’s economic proposals will prove effective.

“The price of eggs and the cost of living was supposed to go down. Not up,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said in a post on X on Friday.

SHELLING OUT: EGG PRICES RISE NEARLY 37 PERCENT

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., criticized President Donald Trump’s economic plans, saying, “The price of eggs and the cost of living was supposed to go down. Not up.” (Getty Images)

“Trump’s ‘concepts of a plan’ at work,” Suhas Subramanyam, D-Va., said in a post on X on Friday, pointing to a photo claiming a dozen eggs cost nearly $9. It’s unclear where the photo originated or its authenticity.

Subramanyam’s post referenced Trump’s comments that he had “concepts of a plan” to replace the Affordable Care Act, during a September 2024 presidential debate with former Vice President Kamala Harris.

Meanwhile, the consumer price index shows egg prices have soared nearly 37% in the past year. For example, a dozen Grade A large eggs cost an average of $4.15 in December — up from $2.51 in December 2023, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In some states like California, those numbers have gone up to nearly $9 per dozen in certain areas. California, like other states including Arizona, Massachusetts and Michigan, requires all eggs sold in the state to come from cage-free hens, which typically are more expensive.

The rise in egg prices comes amid high demand and a massive outbreak of avian flu, known as the highly pathogenic avian influenza, which the U.S. Department of Agriculture attributes to killing more than 20 million egg-laying hens in the last quarter of 2024. All birds from an infected flock are culled, exacerbating the impact of the flu.

Leavitt on Tuesday blamed this killing policy for contributing to the egg shortage.

“The Biden Administration’s slow and ineffective response to the avian influenza outbreak, which began in 2022, has negatively impacted U.S. poultry producers, and his USDA forced farmers to massively cut their livestock populations,” Anna Kelly, White House deputy press secretary, said in a Monday statement to Fox News Digital.

As a result, Kelly said Trump and Rollins would take “bold, decisive action” to address problems related to the avian flu, and direct the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to refocus on the health of animals and plants.

Democrats previously have questioned Trump’s ability to reduce grocery prices, and Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., said in early January that “Trump has no idea” how to cut down such prices.

SWALWELL SLAMMED ON SOCIAL MEDIA FOR QUESTIONING HOW TRUMP WILL LOWER GROCERY PRICES

Rep. Eric Swalwell has cast doubt on President Donald Trump’s ability to reduce the prices of groceries. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

“I don’t care if Donald Trump wants to buy Greenland. I just want to know what he’s going to do to lower the cost of groceries,” Rep. Swalwell wrote on X on Jan. 7.

Vice President JD Vance addressed the cost of groceries in an interview Sunday with CBS’ Margaret Brennan, citing several executive orders that Trump signed his first week in office focused on the economy and reducing energy prices. Among those orders was a directive instructing every department and agency to address the cost of living crisis.

VICE PRESIDENT JD VANCE PRESSED ON WHEN GROCERY PRICES WILL COME DOWN: ‘WHICH ONE LOWERS PRICES?’

Vice President JD Vance clashed with CBS’ Margaret Brennan on several topics, including the prices of groceries in an interview on Jan. 26, 2025. (CBS screenshot)

“Prices are going to come down, but it’s going to take a little bit of time, right?” Vance said. “The president has been president for all of five days. I think that, in those five days, he’s accomplished more than Joe Biden did in four years.”

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The state of the economy ranked as the top issue in the 2024 election, according to a Gallup poll conducted in September 2024.

Voters also believed Trump better equipped to address the economy than his opponent, Harris. While 54% of American voters claimed Trump could better handle the economy, only 45% backed Kamala, the poll found.

Fox Business’ Alexandra Koch and Hanna Panreck contributed to this report.

Diana Stancy is a politics reporter with Fox News Digital covering the White House.

January 28, 2025
Dozens of former intel officials urge senators to confirm Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence

EXCLUSIVE: Dozens of top former intelligence officials are urging members of the Senate to confirm President Donald Trump’s nominee for director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, saying she will “begin undoing the gross politicization that has come to characterize intelligence bureaucracies,” Fox News Digital has learned.

Former White House National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien, former Acting Director of National Intelligence Ric Grenell, Navy SEAL veteran and member of the intelligence community Erik Prince and more than four dozen other former intelligence officials penned a letter to Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and Vice Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., on Monday, obtained exclusively by Fox News Digital.

TRUMP APPOINTS TULSI GABBARD AS DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: ‘FEARLESS SPIRIT’

“We, the undersigned former intelligence and national security officials, urge members of the United States Senate to confirm Tulsi Gabbard to serve as President Trump’s Director of National Intelligence,” they wrote. “Her service as DNI will begin undoing the gross politicization that has come to characterize intelligence bureaucracies, which has been to the great detriment of the freedom and security of the United States and its citizens.”

Tulsi Gabbard is a military officer with more than 20 years of service and multiple combat deployments. (Getty Images)

The officials said Gabbard’s experience “more than qualifies her for this important position.”

Gabbard is a military officer with more than 20 years of service and multiple combat deployments. She also served in the U.S. House of Representatives for eight years and served on numerous national security committees.

The officials said Gabbard was “an outspoken champion for America’s warriors and for our cherished constitutional freedoms.”

“In both these roles, she experienced first-hand how intelligence, when used as intended, provides critical support to America’s military and political leaders,” they wrote. “When intelligence was abused, Lt. Col. Gabbard spoke up and insisted on safeguards.”

The officials said Tulsi Gabbard, here with President Donald Trump, was “an outspoken champion for America’s warriors and for our cherished constitutional freedoms.” (Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images)

PATEL, GABBARD TO APPEAR BEFORE SENATE COMMITTEES NEXT WEEK

The officials said that “in contrast to the many former senior intelligence officials who politicized their profession and disgraced themselves by running misinformation operations to undermine the President of the United States—such as by signing the infamous Biden laptop ‘Russian disinformation’ letter or appearing on partisan programs to knowingly mislead the public with false claims of inside knowledge and access to classified information—Lt. Col. Gabbard stood up for truth, integrity, and following the facts.”

The officials said those are “precisely the values necessary for the leader of the intelligence community.”

“As former collectors, analysts, consumers, and enablers of intelligence, we support Lt. Col. Tulsi Gabbard to lead the IC,” they wrote. “She has the integrity, and moral courage, to restore objectivity and professionalism to the nation’s intelligence agencies.”

Former National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien and more than four dozen other former intelligence officials penned a letter on Monday, urging members of the Senate to confirm Tulsi Gabbard. (Eloisa Lopez/pool/AFP via Getty Images)

The letter comes as Gabbard has come under scrutiny from some senators who have been critical of her intelligence experience.

But allies of Gabbard have defended her record, and said it is critical that someone with “fresh eyes” and “without bias” lead the intelligence community. They also have argued that Gabbard knows, firsthand, the consequences of inaccurate intelligence, given her service in the War on Terror.

TULSI GABBARD CHANGES TUNE ON CONTROVERSIAL INTELLIGENCE TOOL FOLLOWING GOP LOBBYING

“She has seen the true cost of war,” a source close to Gabbard’s confirmation process told Fox News Digital.

“It is a strength, not a weakness, that she doesn’t have direct prior intel agency experience,” the source continued. “She has been a consumer during her time deployed overseas–but not having direct agency background is a strength as she will come in with clear eyes and no bias to the intel community which needs to regain the trust of the American people and not be used as a political tool weaponized against them.”

Ric Grenell, former acting director of national intelligence, speaks in July 2024. He was another name on the letter to Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and Mark Warner, D-Va. (Mike Segar/Reuters )

Gabbard’s confirmation hearing with the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence is scheduled to take place Thursday morning.

Trump has argued that Gabbard will bring a “fearless spirit that has defined her illustrious career to our Intelligence Community, championing our Constitutional Rights and securing Peace through Strength.”

The director of national intelligence leads the U.S. intelligence community, which includes overseeing the National Intelligence Program and advising the president on security matters.

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Gabbard has served as a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserves since 2021, after previously serving in the Hawaii Army National Guard for about 17 years. She was elected to the U.S. House representing Hawaii during the 2012 election cycle, serving as a Democrat until 2021. She did not seek re-election to that office after she entered the 2020 White House race.

Gabbard left the Democratic Party in 2022, registering as an independent before becoming a member of the GOP in 2024 and offering her full endorsement of Trump amid his presidential campaign.

Gabbard has received the support of dozens of national security officials, and in December received endorsements from more than 250 veterans, including high-profile names such as retired Gen. Michael Flynn and former acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller.

Brooke Singman is a political correspondent and reporter for Fox News Digital, Fox News Channel and FOX Business.

January 28, 2025
Flashback: Murkowski voted to confirm 19 Biden Cabinet picks in defiance of GOP

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, voted in favor of 19 out of 21 of former President Joe Biden’s Cabinet nominees in 2021, a Fox News Digital analysis shows.

Murkowski voted against the confirmation of former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and did not vote on former Labor Secretary Marty Walsh’s appointment.

She did vote in favor of Biden’s Supreme Court nominee, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.

SENATE CHAIRMAN CRITICIZES ‘ANONYMOUS SOURCES WITH ULTERIOR MOTIVES,’ STANDS BY HEGSETH NOMINATION

Sen. Lisa Murkowski had voted to confirm all but two of then-President Joe Biden’s Cabinet nominees. (Getty Images)

Alaska’s senior senator is facing a barrage of attacks from President Donald Trump’s supporters over her opposition to his nominee to lead the Department of Defense, Pete Hegseth.

“I commend Pete Hegseth’s service to our nation, including leading troops in combat and advocating for our veterans. However, these accomplishments do not alleviate my significant concerns regarding his nomination,” Murkowski said in a lengthy statement posted to X this week.

She expressed concerns about his lack of relevant experience on Pentagon policy, as well as allegations that he mismanaged two veterans organizations he previously led, and accusations of sexual assault and excessive drinking – all of which Hegseth has denied.

“While the allegations of sexual assault and excessive drinking do nothing to quiet my concerns, the past behaviors Mr. Hegseth has admitted to, including infidelity on multiple occasions, demonstrate a lack of judgment that is unbecoming of someone who would lead our armed forces,” Murkowski wrote.

MODERATE REPUBLICAN MURKOWSKI WON’T BACK TRUMP PICK HEGSETH FOR DEFENSE SECRETARY

Sen. Lisa Murkowski is opposing the nomination of Pete Hegseth. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Among those who criticized her stance was Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., a former Navy SEAL. Van Orden targeted Murkowski for voting for Biden Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin over his leadership during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

“You voted for the two men responsible for the murder of these 13 heroes. The internet is forever, your time in office is not,” Van Orden wrote on X, in reference to the service members killed during a suicide bombing in Kabul.

“I strongly encourage you to fire the staff that gave you this horrible advice and wrote your X post.”

However, some on the right agree with Murkowski. One GOP lawmaker previously told Fox News Digital about Hegseth, “The military fired people who behaved like Hegseth. Him being [Defense Secretary] will cause issues with discipline.”

Sen. Lisa Murkowski opposed the nomination of then-President Joe Biden’s HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Murkowski told Politico in 2020 that “all presidents have right to their Cabinet” but it was the Senate’s responsibility to make sure those people “are good, qualified credible candidates.”

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Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who is also opposing Hegseth, voted in favor of all of Biden’s Cabinet nominees in 2021.

Fox News Digital reached out to Murkowski’s office for comment.

Elizabeth Elkind is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital leading coverage of the House of Representatives. Previous digital bylines seen at Daily Mail and CBS News.

Follow on Twitter at @liz_elkind and send tips to [email protected]

January 24, 2025
Lisa Murkowski says she can’t confirm Pete Hegseth as defense secretary

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said on Thursday she can’t support Pete Hegseth to be President Donald Trump’s secretary of Defense.

“Given the global security environment we’re operating in, it is critical that we confirm a Secretary of Defense, however, I regret that I am unable to support Mr. Hegseth,” she concluded in a lengthy statement posted to X.

TIM SCOTT EMPHASIZES ‘RESULTS’ OVER RECONCILIATION PROCESS AS HE STAYS OUT OF DEBATE

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-AK, speaks during the Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on the Special Diabetes Program on July 11, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Jemal Countess/Getty Images for JDRF)

In her reasoning, Murkowski cited infidelity, “allegations of sexual assault and excessive drinking” and Hegseth’s previous comments on women serving in the military.

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The behaviors that he has admitted to alone, she said, show “a lack of judgment that is unbecoming of someone who would lead our armed forces.”

While Hegseth has admitted to past infidelity, he has denied claims of excessive drinking and sexual assault.

Julia Johnson is a politics writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business, leading coverage of the U.S. Senate. She was previously a politics reporter at the Washington Examiner.

Follow Julia’s reporting on X at @JuliaaJohnson_ and send tips to [email protected].

January 23, 2025
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to a probable weekend session to confirm Trump nominees

We’re quickly approaching the fourth weekend of 2025.

And the Senate is already running behind.

This could trigger weekend Senate sessions as Senate Republicans try to accelerate the process on some of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees.

Senators failed to forge a time agreement to expedite the confirmation of CIA Director nominee John Ratcliffe.

SEN. THUNE SUGGESTS STAYING THROUGH WEEKEND TO CONFIRM TRUMP PICKS AFTER DEMS DELAY VOTES: ‘SHOULDN’T BE HARD’

So, here are some Senate vocabulary terms for you.

Cloture, filibuster and ripen.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., filed “cloture” Tuesday to break filibusters on three nominees, starting with Ratcliffe. “Invoking cloture” is the parliamentary means to break a filibuster.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., filed “cloture” Tuesday to break filibusters on three Trump nominees – starting with former DNI John Ratcliffe. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

A filibuster is in the eyes of the beholder. A filibuster could be a way to hold something up via a lengthy speech. It could be a way to just object and sidetrack the Senate’s course. Or, it could be implied that senators who plan to deploy either option. Thus, the Senate Majority Leader gets the joke. He knows he must “file cloture” to terminate the “filibuster.”

Democrats appear dug in on Ratcliffe. So Thune took the procedural step of filing cloture petitions to overcome a filibuster on the the Ratcliffe nomination, but also for Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth and Homeland Security Secretary nominee Kristi Noem.

By rule, once cloture is filed, it must “ripen” for a day before the Senate may consider it. Thune filed cloture on Ratcliffe Tuesday. Therefore Wednesday serves as the intervening day. The Senate could vote to break the filibuster one hour after the Senate meets on Thursday at 10 am et. By rule, the cloture vote can begin at 11 am et. That will only need 51 yeas to break the filibuster.

SECOND ACTS: PRESIDENT TRUMP MAKES HISTORIC COMEBACK

CIA Director is not recognized as a full-level cabinet position. So the “post cloture” time is limited to only two hours – not the full 30 hours of debate allowed for all cabinet level slots.

Thus, if the Senate breaks the filibuster on Thursday, a vote to confirm Ratcliffe as CIA Director could come just two hours later. Confirmation only needs 51 votes.

Next in the queue is the Hegseth nomination. And the process starts all over again.

Pete Hegseth, the president’s nominee for Secretary of Defense, may require a tiebreaking vote by Vice President JD Vance in order to be confirmed. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Fox has learned that unless there is a time agreement to accelerate debate on nominees, it is possible that the confirmation vote on Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth could come late Friday night or in the wee hours of Saturday morning.

So let’s say the Senate clears the filibuster on Ratcliffe by late morning. It debates his nomination for a couple of hours. That means the Senate could vote by 3 or 4 p.m. ET to confirm Ratcliffe.

Once Ratcliffe is confirmed, Hegseth is next. The Senate could then vote to break the filibuster on Hegseth on Thursday afternoon. If the Senate breaks the filibuster, that would then trigger up to 30 hours of debate. If all time is used, final confirmation on Hegseth could come late Friday night or early Saturday morning.

HEGSETH LAWYER SLAMS ‘FLAWED AND QUESTIONABLE AFFIDAVIT’ FROM EX-SISTER-IN-LAW

Regardless, this is where things get interesting:

Fox is told it’s possible there could be a tie on the confirmation vote for Hegseth. It’s about the math. Republicans have 53 members. Fox is told to keep an eye on Sens. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska. All have played their cards close to the vest as to their opinions on Hegseth. If they vote nay, Vice President Vance could need to come to the Capitol to break the tie and confirm Hegseth as Defense Secretary.

No vice president had ever broken a tie to confirm a cabinet secretary until former Vice President Mike Pence did so to confirm Betsy DeVos as Education Secretary on February 7, 2017. Pence also broke ties to confirm former Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., as ambassador for religious freedom in 2018. He also broke a tie to confirm current Budget Director nominee Russ Vought as Deputy Budget Director in 2018.

Next in line after Hegseth comes a procedural vote on Gov. Kristi Noem, R-S.D., Trump’s pick for Secretary of Homeland Security. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Once the Senate dispenses with the Hegseth nomination, it’s on to a procedural vote for Noem. The Senate would need to break a filibuster on Noem’s nomination. If that vote comes late Friday/early Saturday, the Senate could vote to confirm Noem midday Sunday if they burn all time. If the vote to break the filibuster on Noem comes at a “normal” hour Saturday (say 10 or 11 am et), the Senate doesn’t vote to confirm Noem until Sunday night or Monday if all time is required.

Thune also filed cloture on the nomination of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent late Thursday. So that’s up once Noem is confirmed. If all time is used, Bessent isn’t confirmed until early next week.

And so it goes.

TRUMP NOMINEES COLLINS, STEFANIK TO FACE SENATE GRILLING AS VA, UN PICKS; BESSENT GETS COMMITTEE VOTE

“Do you all have your sleeping bags and cots?” asked Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss.

Everyone is settling in for a slog.

“Right now it appears there’s every indication that votes will be taking place through Saturday. We’ll see if that goes into Sunday or Monday without any days in between. But right now, I’m planning on being there for the weekend for votes,” said Sen. Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M.

These confirmations are Thune’s “first rodeo” as majority leader – and his first real opportunity to go to bat on behalf of his party’s interests. (Getty Images)

“I’m happy to be here all weekend, if that’s what it takes,” said Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo.

That said, Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., cautioned that things sometimes accelerate in the Senate. Especially when there’s chatter of late-night votes and weekend sessions.

“I think I’ve seen this game before,” said Durbin Tuesday. “I think it ends with an accommodation and a bipartisan agreement. So I wouldn’t jump too quickly now to reach a conclusion.”

DEM WHO CALLED TRUMP ‘EXISTENTIAL THREAT TO DEMOCRACY’ NOW BLOCKING HIS NOMINEES

That said, there are two factors afoot:

Democrats want to make a point about their reservations Trump nominees – especially those with whom they vehemently disagree or believe are unqualified. So politically, it’s important that they go to the mat and show their base they’re standing up to the President and his cabinet.

By the same token, this is Thune’s first rodeo as Majority Leader. He needs to establish his bona fides as Leader. Politically, Thune must demonstrate he’s fighting for Mr. Trump and his nominees – and willing to keep the Senate in session around the clock. In other words, there’s a new sheriff in town.

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So, unless something changes, everyone is dialed in for some lengthy weekend and even late-night sessions. It’s likely the Senate will confirm President Trump’s nominees.

But it might just take a while.

Chad Pergram currently serves as a senior congressional correspondent for FOX News Channel (FNC). He joined the network in September 2007 and is based out of Washington, D.C.

January 22, 2025