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Comer, Lee roll out bicameral bill to fast-track Trump’s government reorganization plans through Congress

FIRST ON FOX: House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer and Sen. Mike Lee are introducing bicameral legislation Thursday that would fast-track President Donald Trump’s federal government reorganizations plans through Congress, Fox News Digital has learned.

Comer, R-Ky., will introduce the Reorganizing Government Act of 2025 in the House Thursday, while Lee, R-Utah, will roll it out in the Senate..

The legislation would ensure Congress takes an up or down vote on the plans submitted to Congress in order to “streamline government operations to better serve the American people.”

DOGE SLASHES MILLIONS MORE IN ‘NONSENSE’ CONTRACTS ACROSS SEVERAL FEDERAL AGENCIES

It also seeks to renew and extend presidential authority to propose executive branch reorganization plans through December 2026 and restores a reorganization authority that was last in effect in 1984. Congressional aides said the bill aims to “modernize and improve government efficiency.”

Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., will introduce the Reorganizing Government Act of 2025 in the House Feb. 13, 2025, while Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, will roll it out in the Senate.

Under the bill, Congress must vote on Trump’s proposed reorganization plans within 90 days by using an expedited process that cannot be filibustered.

It also expands the president’s authority to include entire executive departments — not just agencies.

The bill does prohibit, however, reorganization that would increase the size of the federal workforce or its expenditures.

“Americans elected President Trump to reform Washington, and his team is working around the clock to deliver on that promise,” Comer told Fox News Digital, adding that the federal bureaucracy “has grown dramatically in size and scope, creating unnecessary red tape.”

“We must cut through the inefficiency and streamline government to improve service delivery and save taxpayers money,” he said, adding that “Congress can fast-track President Trump’s government reorganization plans by renewing a key tool to approve them swiftly in Congress.”

DOGE SLASHES OVER $100M IN DEI FUNDING AT EDUCATION DEPARTMENT: ‘WIN FOR EVERY STUDENT’

“The Reorganizing Government Act of 2025 does just that,” Comer said. “We owe it to the American people to make government efficient, effective, and accountable.”

And Lee told Fox News Digital that the bicameral legislation allows the president to use his constitutional authority to reorganize federal agencies, “eliminate weaponization” and “right-size the government to better serve the American people.”

Sen Mike Lee, R-Utah, said the bicameral legislation allows the president to use his constitutional authority to reorganize federal agencies, “eliminate weaponization” and “right-size the government to better serve the American people.” (Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)

“Congress cannot afford to sit on its hands in this fight,” Lee told Fox News Digital. “Reauthorizing presidential reorganization authority is the most comprehensive tool that the president can use to restore good governance to Washington.”

The bill comes amid a significant expansion in the federal government, which GOP lawmakers say has led to “inefficiencies, redundancies, and bureaucratic obstacles.”

Its introduction also comes amid a push from the White House to shrink the size of the federal government.

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Trump signed executive orders on his first day in office to do so.

The president also tasked Elon Musk to run the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, to reduce government waste, cut the federal workforce and slash costs.

The president also tasked Elon Musk to run the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, to reduce government waste, cut the federal workforce and slash costs. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)

The Office of Personnel Management offered employees across the federal government the option to resign with full pay and benefits through September in an effort to cut the workforce. Sources say at least 75,000 federal workers have taken the option to resign.

Meanwhile, DOGE has successfully canceled millions of dollars of government contracts that the administration says were a waste of taxpayer dollars.

A senior administration official told Fox News Digital on Wednesday that DOGE has worked with various agencies to cancel several contracts in the Social Security Administration, the Departments of Homeland Security and Labor, and several other areas.

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

February 13, 2025
Lee Zeldin confirmed to lead key environmental agency in Trump administration

The Senate voted on Wednesday to confirm former Rep. Lee Zeldin to head the government’s leading agency on environmental rules and regulations.

President Donald Trump tapped Zeldin, who previously served as a congressman from New York’s 1st Congressional District from 2015 to 2023, to lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under his administration. During his tenure in Congress, Zeldin, an Army Reserve lieutenant colonel, launched a campaign for governor in New York, when he trailed only five percentage points in the largely Democratic state.

Zeldin underwent a confirmation hearing earlier this month, when he was questioned on climate change by members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

In a 56 to 42 vote on Wednesday, the senate confirmed Zeldin to head the EPA in a final floor vote on his nomination.

ZELDIN GRILLED BY DEMOCRATS ON CLIMATE CHANGE, TRUMP’S STANCE ON CARBON EMISSIONS DURING EPA HEARING

Former Rep. Lee Zeldin, President Donald Trump’s pick to head the EPA, appears before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Capitol Hill, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

If confirmed on Wednesday, Zeldin will head the agency that surveys environmental issues, provides assistance to wide-ranging environmental projects, and establishes rules that align with the administration’s views on environmental protection and climate change.

During his confirmation hearing, Zeldin pledged that if confirmed, he would “foster a collaborative culture within the agency, supporting career staff who have dedicated themselves to this mission. I strongly believe we have a moral responsibility to be good stewards of our environment for generations to come.”

Former Rep. Lee Zeldin, with athlete Riley Gaines, outside the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on July 16, 2024. (J. Conrad Williams, Jr./Newsday RM)

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The latest round of voting comes as Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., continues to advance the confirmation process to push through Trump’s Cabinet nominees.

Aubrie Spady is a Writer for Fox News Digital.

January 29, 2025
Lee Zeldin faces vote to lead key environmental agency in Trump administration

The Senate will vote Wednesday on whether to confirm former Rep. Lee Zeldin to head the government’s leading agency on environmental rules and regulations.

President Donald Trump tapped Zeldin, who previously served as a congressman from New York’s 1st Congressional District from 2015 to 2023, to lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under his administration. During his tenure in Congress, Zeldin, an Army Reserve lieutenant colonel, launched a campaign for governor in New York, when he trailed only five percentage points in the largely Democratic state.

Zeldin underwent a confirmation hearing earlier this month, when he was questioned on climate change by members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

The Senate held a cloture vote for Zeldin on Wednesday afternoon, which ended the debate over his nomination. The chamber will now proceed to a final floor vote.

ZELDIN GRILLED BY DEMOCRATS ON CLIMATE CHANGE, TRUMP’S STANCE ON CARBON EMISSIONS DURING EPA HEARING

Former Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., President Donald Trump’s pick to head the Environmental Protection Agency, appears before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Capitol Hill, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

If confirmed on Wednesday, Zeldin will head the agency that surveys environmental issues, provides assistance to wide-ranging environmental projects, and establishes rules that align with the administration’s views on environmental protection and climate change.

During his confirmation hearing, Zeldin pledged that if confirmed, he would “foster a collaborative culture within the agency, supporting career staff who have dedicated themselves to this mission. I strongly believe we have a moral responsibility to be good stewards of our environment for generations to come.”

Lee Zeldin, former New York representative, with athlete Riley Gaines, outside the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee on July 16, 2024. (J. Conrad Williams, Jr./Newsday RM)

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The latest round of voting comes as Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., continues to advance the confirmation process to push through Trump’s Cabinet nominees.

Aubrie Spady is a Writer for Fox News Digital.

January 29, 2025
Thomas Massie and Mike Lee advocate for US to dump NATO

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Sen. Mike Lee are advocating for the U.S. to withdraw from the North Atlantic Treaty Organiation (NATO).

“If you could snap your fingers and get us out of NATO today, would you?” Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, asked in a post on X.

“Yes,” Massie replied.

MASSIE AND OTHER REPUBLICANS PUSH ‘NATIONAL CONSTITUTIONAL CARRY ACT’ TO PROTECT AMERICANS’ GUN RIGHTS

Left: Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, arrives for the Senate Republicans leadership election in the Capitol on Wednesday, November 13, 2024; Center: NATO flag is seen during official celebration of the 25th anniversary of Poland’s accession to the structures of NATO in Krakow, Poland on March 12, 2024; Right: Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., attends the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 20, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Left: Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images; Center: Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images; Right: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

The House lawmaker has previously called the alliance — which includes the U.S. and scads of other nations — a “Cold War relic.”

“I would withdraw us from NATO,” Massie said, the Washington Post reported in 2022. “It’s a Cold War relic. Our involvement should have ceased when the [Berlin] wall fell and the Soviet Union collapsed.”

Lee has been critical of the NATO alliance, describing it as a “great deal for Europe,” but a “raw deal for America.”

MIKE LEE FLOATS ALLOWING PRIVATE PARTIES TO TARGET DRUG CARTELS FOR PROFIT

Sen Mike Lee, R-Utah, speaks during a campaign rally for U.S. Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump at Findlay Toyota Center on Oct. 13, 2024 in Prescott Valley, Ariz. (Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)

The senator has called for the U.S. to consider departing NATO, and has in some cases explicitly endorsed the prospect of a U.S. withdrawal.

“NATO members must pay up now,” Lee asserted in a tweet. “If they don’t—and maybe even if they do—the U.S. should seriously consider leaving NATO,” he continued. “We won the Cold War,” the senator noted. “A long time ago, in fact.”

“Amen!” Lee exclaimed in a tweet when responding to someone who had declared, “Let’s leave NATO.”

“Let’s go!” the lawmaker wrote in response to two separate posts suggesting that President Donald Trump should withdraw the U.S. from NATO.

MIKE LEE CONTINUES CALLING FOR ABOLITION OF TSA

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., is seen outside the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024 (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

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Part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024, which was signed by President Joe Biden in late 2023, placed into U.S. law language that declares, “The President shall not suspend, terminate, denounce, or withdraw the United States from the North Atlantic Treaty, done at Washington, DC, April 4, 1949, except by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, provided that two-thirds of the Senators present concur, or pursuant to an Act of Congress.”

Alex Nitzberg is a writer for Fox News Digital.

January 29, 2025
Mike Lee floats allowing private parties to target drug cartels for profit

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, has floated the idea of the U.S. green-lighting private parties to target drug cartels for profit.

The senator laid out the proposal in posts on X.

“Letters of marque and reprisal are government-issued commissions that authorize private citizens (privateers) to perform acts that would otherwise be considered piracy, like attacking enemy ships during wartime,” Lee explained. “Privateers are rewarded with a cut of the loot they ‘bring home.’”

MIKE LEE CONTINUES CALLING FOR ABOLITION OF TSA

Sen Mike Lee, R-Utah, speaks during a campaign rally for U.S. Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump at Findlay Toyota Center on Oct. 13, 2024, in Prescott Valley, Ariz. (Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)

The lawmaker pointed out that the U.S. Constitution authorizes Congress to “grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal,” and suggested that this power could be leveraged against drug cartels.

“Congress could issue letters of marque and reprisal authorizing private security firms or specially trained civilians to intercept cartel operations, particularly those involving drug shipments or human trafficking across borders,” Lee wrote, adding, “Focus on disrupting supply lines, capturing high-value targets, or seizing assets like boats, vehicles, cash, gold, or equipment used in criminal activities.”

Lee suggested that this method of contending with cartels would lower costs to American taxpayers, since privateers would be paid a portion of what they capture and bring back to the U.S.

SEN MIKE LEE: REPUBLICANS IN CONGRESS MUST IMMEDIATELY ADVANCE TRUMP’S MAGA AGENDA

“Dismissing the possible use of letters of marque to combat Mexican drug cartels—either on the basis of ‘international law’ or otherwise—overlooks the clear and present threat posed by those cartels to the U.S.,” he wrote. “This could prove to be an effective alternative to war.”

Lee noted that in such a scenario, privateers would only profit from “non-contraband,” and that cartel drugs would be destroyed, not sold.

“One pitfall as a practical matter might be that a lot of the property belonging to these cartels isn’t … easy to monetize — because the products they sell are illegal,” he wrote.

“That could make it difficult to incentivize and reward them, as ‘prize courts’ (historically the government’s tool used for selling the seized assets and assessing how much money each privateer is able to receive) obviously wouldn’t be able to sell drugs,” Lee indicated. “But these cartels have a lot of non-contraband assets, including many things (gold, cash, etc.) that could be seized by privateers, returned to the U.S., liquidated, and used to reward the seizures.”

SENATE CONFIRMS KRISTI NOEM AS TRUMP’S DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah., arrives for the Senate Republicans leadership election in the Capitol on Wednesday, November 13, 2024 (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

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Rep. Chip Roy responded to Lee’s proposal by describing it in a tweet as “worthy of consideration.”

“This would work very fast,” Elon Musk said of the idea in a post.

Alex Nitzberg is a writer for Fox News Digital.

January 28, 2025
Mike Lee continues calling for abolition of TSA

Sen. Mike Lee is continuing to call for the abolition of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

“Tired of being groped every time you travel? Abolish TSA,” the senator said in a recent post on X.

“Make Airport Security Free Of Sexual Assault Again,” Lee said in another tweet, adding, “Abolish TSA.”

TSA OFFICER REPORTEDLY CAUGHT WITH FIREARM IN BUSY ATLANTA AIRPORT IS ARRESTED

Chairman Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, speaks during the Senate Energy and Natural Resources confirmation hearing for U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Energy Chris Wright on Capitol Hill on Jan. 15, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Left: Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images; Right: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

In another post, he suggested that President Donald Trump should eliminate the TSA.

Lee suggests that instead of TSA, airlines could handle passenger screening.

“You may be required to undergo a pat-down procedure if the screening technology alarms, as part of unpredictable security measures, for enhanced screening, or as an alternative to other types of screening, such as advanced imaging technology screening,” according to the TSA website. “A pat-down may include inspection of the head, neck, arms, torso, legs, and feet. This includes head coverings and sensitive areas such as breasts, groin, and the buttocks.”

The agency was established in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.

“The Aviation and Transportation Security Act, passed by the 107th Congress and signed on November 19, 2001, established TSA,” according to the TSA’s website.

TSA REVEALS TOP UNUSUAL FINDS AT AIRPORT SECURITY CHECKPOINTS IN 2024

The TSA seal. (Jeffrey Greenberg/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Lee advocated the idea of nixing TSA last year as well.

“It’s time to abolish the TSA. Airlines can and will secure their own planes if a federal agency doesn’t do it for them. They’ll do it better than TSA, without undermining the Constitution and with less groping—showing more respect for passengers,” the senator declared in a post last year on March 11.

Days later, Lee indicated that he had been subjected to a TSA pat down.

SEN MIKE LEE: REPUBLICANS IN CONGRESS MUST IMMEDIATELY ADVANCE TRUMP’S MAGA AGENDA

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah., arrives for the Senate Republicans leadership election in the Capitol on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024 (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

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“Update: days after calling to abolish TSA, I got ‘randomly selected’ for the needlessly slow, thorough TSA screening & patdown. Maybe it’s a coincidence. Or not. Impossible to know. That’s part of the problem with having a federal agency in charge of airport security,” he tweeted on March 14, 2024.

In December, the senator shared a video of a man being subjected to a pat down.

“It’s unsettling knowing that the TSA does this countless times every day, constantly conducting needlessly invasive, warrantless, suspicion-less searches of law-abiding Americans,” Lee wrote when sharing the video. “Please share if you’d like to abolish TSA,” he added.

Alex Nitzberg is a writer for Fox News Digital.

January 27, 2025
Olympic gymnast Suni Lee vows to never ski again after disastrous first experience

U.S. Olympian Suni Lee may want to stick to gymnastics.

The gold medalist tried her hand at skiing for the first time this week, as seen in her Instagram story, but wound up face-down on the snow.

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Suni Lee, of the United States, falls while competing during the women’s artistic gymnastics individual balance beam finals at Bercy Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

During a trip to Montreal in Canada, Lee showed off her failed skiing attempt with photo and video of her laying down on her front in skis after falling down right in front of the slope entrance. She claims it will be the last time she tries to ski.

“First time skiing,” she wrote. “Omg never again.”

TEAM USA’S TOP 5 MOMENTS OF PARIS OLYMPICS

Sunisa Lee of Team United States looks on during a Gymnastics training session in the Bercy Arena ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on July 25, 2024 in Paris, France. (Elsa/Getty Images)

A video of her laying on the snow, which was taken by her friend Samira Ahmed and re-shared to Lee’s own story, showed the gymnast laughing as she squirmed on the snow. A caption on that video read, “This is why I stay off the slopes.”

While fans can certainly expect not to see Lee compete in the upcoming 2026 Milan Olympics, her struggles in skiing certainly isn’t for lack of athleticism or coordination.

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Sunisa Lee after failing on women’s balance beam on day 10 of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Bercy Arena on August 5, 2024 in Paris, France. ( Markus Gilliar – GES Sportfoto/Getty Images)

Lee is the 2020 Olympic all-around gold medalist and uneven bars bronze medalist and the 2024 Olympic all-around and uneven bars bronze medalist. She also helped contribute to the U.S.’s team gold medal in 2024 and silver in 2020.

She has also received many prominent sports honors and awards, including in 2021, when she was named Female Athlete of the Year by Sports Illustrated and Sportswoman of the Year by the Women’s Sports Foundation. She was even included in Time Magazine 100, which is the publication’s annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

Jackson Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital. He previously worked for ESPN and Business Insider. Jackson has covered the Super Bowl and NBA Finals, and has interviewed iconic figures Usain Bolt, Rob Gronkowski, Jerry Rice, Troy Aikman, Mike Trout, David Ortiz and Roger Clemens.

January 25, 2025