Happy New Year 2025

Tag: nominee

Trump HHS nominee RFK Jr returns to Capitol Hill for round 2 after heated first day of hearings

Join Fox News for access to this content

Plus special access to select articles and other premium content with your account – free of charge.

By entering your email and pushing continue, you are agreeing to Fox News’ Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, which includes our Notice of Financial Incentive.

Please enter a valid email address.

Having trouble? Click here.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is back on Capitol Hill for a second day of Senate confirmation hearings after a grilling by Democrats during a contentious first day on Wednesday.

Kennedy will take questions on Thursday in front of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

On Wednesday, in front of the Senate Finance Committee, which will vote on Kennedy’s confirmation, there were plenty of verbal fireworks over past controversial comments by the vaccine skeptic and environmental crusader who ran for the White House in 2024 before ending his bid and endorsing Trump.

But Kennedy’s uneven performance didn’t appear to do damage to his confirmation, as no Republican on the panel voiced opposition to his nomination to lead 18 powerful federal agencies that oversee the nation’s food and health. Those agencies include the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

MULTIPLE OUTBURSTS AT COMBUSTIBLE RFK JR CONFIRMATION HEARING

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testifies during a Senate Finance Committee hearing on his nomination to be HHS secretary on Jan. 29, 2025. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)

Democrats on the committee repeatedly pointed to Kennedy’s controversial vaccine views, including his repeated claims in recent years linking vaccines to autism, which have been debunked by scientific research.

They also spotlighted Kennedy’s service for years as chair or chief legal counsel for Children’s Health Defense, the nonprofit organization he founded that has advocated against vaccines and sued the federal government numerous times, including a challenge over the authorization of the COVID vaccine for children.

“Mr. Kennedy has embraced conspiracy theories, quacks and charlatans, especially when it comes to the safety and efficacy of vaccines. He’s made it his life’s work to sow doubt and discourage parents from getting their kids life-saving vaccines,” Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the top Democrat on the panel, charged in his opening statement.

WATCH: RFK JR WARNS THAT AMERICA’S HEALTH IS IN ‘GRIEVIOUS CONDITION’

The senator also pointed to past Kennedy vaccine comments in podcasts, including one from 2020 when he said he would “pay anything” to be able to go back in time and not vaccinate his kids.

“Are you lying to Congress today when you say you are pro-vaccine? Or did you lie on all those podcasts?” Wyden asked.

Pushing back in a heated exchange, Kennedy said the statements he made on podcasts have “been repeatedly debunked.”

And he vowed he would do nothing to prevent Americans from obtaining certain vaccines.

“I support the measles vaccine. I support the polio vaccine. I will do nothing as HHS secretary that makes it difficult or discourages people from taking anything,” Kennedy said.

Democrat Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado accused Kennedy of “peddling half-truths, peddling false statements.”

RFK JR ACCUSES DEMOCRATS OF PUSHING DISHONEST NARRATIVE

And Democrat Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, who has known Kennedy for decades, dating back to their days as law school students and roommates at the University of Virginia, told his friend, “Frankly, you frighten people.”

Kennedy was also heckled multiple times near the start of the hearing.

As Kennedy delivered his opening comments and said, “News reports have claimed that I am anti-vaccine or anti-industry. I am neither. I am pro-safety,” a protester shouted, “You lie.”

The heckler was led out of the hearing room by Capitol Police, as was a second protester minutes later.

And another protester was spotted in the audience holding a sign reading, “Vaccines Save Lives, No RFK JR.”

A protester holds up a sign reading, “Vaccines save lives,” as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testifies during his Senate confirmation hearing on Jan. 29, 2025. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)

The 71-year-old Kennedy, a scion of the nation’s most storied political dynasty, launched a long-shot campaign for the Democrat presidential nomination against President Joe Biden in April 2023. But six months later, he switched to an independent run for the White House.

Kennedy made major headlines again last August when he dropped his presidential bid and endorsed Trump. While Kennedy had long identified as a Democrat and repeatedly invoked his late father, former Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, and his late uncle, former President John F. Kennedy – who were both assassinated in the 1960s – Kennedy in recent years built relationships with far-right leaders due in part to his high-profile vaccine skepticism.

Trump announced soon after the November election that he would nominate Kennedy to his Cabinet to run HHS.

Now-President Donald Trump welcomes Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to the stage at a campaign rally on Oct. 23, 2024, in Duluth, Ga. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

In the two months since Trump’s announcement, it’s not just Democrats who’ve raised questions about Kennedy’s confirmation. Social conservative Republicans took issue with his past comments in support of abortion rights.

“My belief is we should leave it to the woman. We shouldn’t have the government involved, even if it’s full term,” Kennedy said as he ran for president.

But since endorsing Trump, Kennedy has walked back his stance on abortion. And in an exchange Wednesday with Democrat Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Kennedy said, “I agree with President Trump that every abortion is a tragedy.”

Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a former two-time Democrat presidential candidate, argued that Kennedy made a “major U-turn” on abortion.

Kennedy was also questioned about how he would reform Medicare and Medicaid, the massive government healthcare programs used by millions of older, disabled and low-income Americans.

“I don’t have a broad proposal for dismantling the program,” Kennedy said of Medicaid.

And he said Trump hadn’t asked him to cut the program but rather “asked me to make it better.”

Kennedy, whose outspoken views on Big Pharma and the food industry have also sparked controversy, vowed that “if confirmed, I will do everything in my power to put the health of Americans back on track.”

While Democrats may find common ground with Kennedy’s aim to shift the focus of the agencies he would oversee toward promotion of a healthy lifestyle, including overhauling dietary guidelines, taking aim at ultra-processed foods and getting to the root causes of chronic diseases, Kennedy lamented that they oppose him because he’s Trump’s nominee.

“Now they’re against me because anything that President Trump does, any decision he makes, has to be lampooned, derided, discredited, marginalized, vilified,” Kennedy said.

RFK JR LIKELY TO BE CONFIRMED AS HEALTH SECRETARY, FOX NEWS MEDICAL ANALYST PREDICTS

With Republicans controlling the Senate by a 53-47 majority, Kennedy can only afford to lose the support of three GOP senators if Democrats unite against his confirmation. During Wednesday’s hearing, no Republicans appeared to oppose the nomination.

Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina appeared to lean into the Democrats’ attacks on Kennedy by asking, “I got a real quick question for you: Are you a conspiracy theorist?”

Kennedy answered that it “is a pejorative that’s applied to me mainly to keep me from asking difficult questions of powerful interests.”

GOP Sen. Steve Daines of Montana, a chemical engineer, noted that there were several Republican doctors on the committee.

“We believe in science. I’m thankful that you do, too,” Daines said.

Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, a physician who said he had a “frank conversation” with Kennedy about immunizations when they met this month, didn’t ask about vaccines during the committee hearing. Instead, he kept his questions about federal healthcare programs, including Medicare.

Meanwhile, GOP Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin took aim at Democrats on the committee for what he claimed was “hostility on the other side. … I’m disappointed with it.”

Following Wednesday’s hearing, Democrats kept up their criticism.

“I think you saw today that he’s not backing down from any of his really crazy, loony conspiracy beliefs,” Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut told reporters.

And Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, who is thought to be one of the few Democrats who may support Kennedy’s confirmation, said, “I don’t think it went well for him.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

But GOP Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas, who sits on the Finance Committee, pointed to Democrats on the panel and said, “I understand their concerns about vaccines. I think Bobby put those concerns to bed.”

And Republican Sen. Jim Banks of Indiana told reporters that Kennedy “did great today. I expect him to do great tomorrow.”

January 30, 2025
‘You frighten people’: Top 5 most memorable moments from Wednesday’s Trump nominee hearings

The latest confirmation hearings for President Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees were packed with fiery exchanges with lawmakers, interruptions from protesters, and tearjerking testimonies that came as the Senate works to fill out the president’s administration.

Several candidates under consideration to head key positions in the Trump administration were grilled by lawmakers during their Senate confirmation hearings on Wednesday.

The hearings were off to a fiery start with the Senate Finance Committee’s questioning of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s nominee for secretary of Health and Human Services. The Senate also held confirmation hearings for Howard Lutnick, Trump’s longtime friend, who he picked to head the Department of Commerce, and Kelly Loeffler, who is being considered to lead the Small Business Administration (SBA).

1. Democratic senator to RFK Jr.: ‘You frighten people’

During the heated confirmation hearing of Kennedy, Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., told the Trump nominee that he frightens people, specifically referring to his stance on vaccines.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump’s choice to be Secretary of Health and Human Services, appears before the Senate Finance Committee for his confirmation hearing at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (J. Scott Applewhite)

“Americans are going to need to hear a clear and trustworthy recantation of what you have said on vaccinations, including a promise from you never to say vaccines aren’t medically safe when they, in fact, are, and making indisputably clear that you support mandatory vaccinations against diseases that will keep people safe,” Whitehouse said during the hearing. “You’re in that hole pretty deep.”

Whitehouse then referenced a recent measles outbreak in Rhode Island as he pressed Kennedy on his vaccine stance.

“Frankly, you frighten people,” Whitehouse told the Trump nominee.

However, Kennedy pushed back on the claims that he is anti-vaccine, noting that all his children are vaccinated.

2. Protesters disrupt RFK Jr. hearing

Kennedy’s Senate confirmation hearing was disrupted by several protesters who snuck into the Senate Finance Committee hearing room.

After Kennedy told lawmakers that he is not against vaccines, one protester stood up and was heard shouting, “You lie.”

3. Lutnick gets emotional talking about brother’s tragic 9/11 death

Howard Lutnick, who was introduced by Vice President JD Vance, shared an emotional story about his brother being tragically killed during the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York City.

Lutnick’s brother, Gary, was tragically killed while working at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, along with 657 of the Lutnick brothers’ friends at their financial firm, Cantor Fitzgerald, the commerce nominee described during the hearing.

Lutnick said that he took his son to kindergarten that day, sparing his life.

Howard Lutnick, President Donald Trump’s choice to be Secretary of Commerce, appears before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee for his confirmation hearing, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

“The company was located on the top five floors of the World Trade Center. I still can’t say it without being emotional, sorry, but no one in the office survived,” he said on Wednesday, appearing to hold back tears.

“I made the decision that I’ve made enough money in my life,” Lutnick said. “I can take care of myself. I can take care of my family. It is now my chance to serve the American people.”

4. RFK Jr. refutes claim he compared CDC to ‘Nazi death camps’

Kennedy and Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., went back and forth after the Democratic senator claimed the Trump nominee previously likened the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to “Nazi death camps.”

Georgia Democratic Senate candidate Raphael Warnock speaks onstage during the ‘Vote GA Blue’ concert on Dec. 28, 2020, in Stonecrest, Georgia. (Paras Griffin)

“You compared the CDC work to Nazi death camps. You’ve compared it to sexual abusers in the Catholic Church. You’ve also said that many of them, as in the direct quote, belong in jail,” Warnock said during the hearing on Wednesday.

Asked if he stands by the statements, Kennedy refuted the claim.

“I don’t believe that I ever compared the CDC to Nazi death camps. I support the CDC. My job is not to dismantle or harm the CDC. My job is to empower the scientists,” Kennedy said. “I never said it.”

Warnock read a transcript of Kennedy’s remarks at a conference making the reference, but the HHS nominee further defended the intent of his statement.

“I was comparing the injury rate of children towards other atrocities,” Kennedy said. “I wouldn’t compare the CDC to Nazi death camps.”

5. SBA defends Trump after senator claims he ‘acted illegally twice’ this week

SBA pick Kelly Loeffler got into a heated exchange with a member of the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee while defending Trump against Democratic claims that he “acted illegally” twice in the past week.

“The president has already acted illegally twice in the last 5 days. He fired the inspectors general. That was illegal, under the law. He froze all funding on Monday night. That was also against the law,” Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts claimed during his questioning of Loeffler.

Sen. Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., waits for Vice President Mike Pence to arrive for her swear-in reenactment for the cameras in the Capitol on Monday, Jan. 6, 2020. (Getty Images)

“So it’s not as though he won’t ask you to do something that is illegal and unconstitutional, he’s been doing it all week. And this is the first week,” he added.

However, Loeffler immediately came to the defense of Trump and doubled down on her support of the president’s recent actions.

“If I could just, for the record, note that these were not illegal actions,” Loeffler told the committee. “I support the president’s actions. It’s in his right to select members of the executive branch, that’s what he’s doing. And he’s certainly in the right to stop wastefully spending as most presidents do when they come in to pause wasteful spending.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Markey began speaking over Loeffler as she defended the president before changing the subject.

Fox News’ Emma Woodhead contributed to this report.

Aubrie Spady is a Writer for Fox News Digital.

January 29, 2025
Small Business Administration nominee Kelly Loeffler says small biz is in her DNA

FOX Business host Larry Kudlow discusses President Donald Trump’s desire to end wars and create a strong economy on ‘Kudlow.’

Former U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler of Georgia, President Donald Trump’s pick for Small Business Administration (SBA) administrator, plans to go before the Senate’s Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee on Wednesday, when she plans to speak about Trump’s vision for the country, as well as what qualifies her for the job.

In a copy of her written remarks obtained by FOX Business, Loeffler speaks about her roots growing up as the fourth generation on her family’s farm in Illinois, adding that “small business” is in her “DNA.”

“My wonderful parents, Don and Lynda, didn’t have degrees, but they had faith and grit,” she wrote. “They worked relentlessly to sustain our farm and small trucking company – risking everything to provide for us while navigating volatile commodity markets and complex regulations and facing countless day-to-day challenges.

“It’s where my Midwestern work ethic was ingrained, working in our soybean fields and waiting tables at local restaurants – preparing me for a lifetime of starting and growing businesses,” she continued. “I became the first in my family to graduate college and later earned my MBA.”

FIRST ON FOX: TRUMP SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION PICK LOEFFLER TO MEET WITH GOP SENATORS

Former U.S. Sen., Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., is President Donald Trump’s nominee to be administrator of the Small Business Administration. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images / Getty Images)

After college, Loeffler helped grow a startup into a Fortune 500 company, and for 10 years, she co-owned the Atlanta Dream of the WNBA. She also wrote that she launched a financial technology company, Bakkt, as the founding CEO and first employee.

“I recall managing budgets in Excel spreadsheets, hiring my first team member, and working with regulators as much as I recall ringing the bell when two of those companies went public,” Loeffler wrote.

Later in her statement, Loeffler talks about how she plans to leverage her decades of business experience to champion America’s entrepreneurs.

FIRST ON FOX:TRUMP CABINET NOMINEE LOEFFLER PLEDGES TO DONATE SALARY TO CHARITY IF CONFIRMED

Former U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler campaigns in Milton, Georgia, in 2022. (Jessica McGowan/Getty Images / Getty Images)

“We’ll cut red tape and modernize the agency while restoring the accountability and transparency that taxpayers deserve,” she wrote. “I will crack down on fraud, with a zero-tolerance policy, while shifting SBA’s focus from Washington D.C. back to Main Streets across America. And if confirmed, I’ll collaborate across government and the private sector to deliver efficiency and results. Importantly – we will responsibly and urgently meet the challenge of disaster relief. I am committed to serving all who are impacted, from North Carolina to California to Hawaii.

“Each taxpayer dollar entrusted to SBA should have an economic multiplier effect – delivering productive capital to grow manufacturing, strengthen rural communities, create jobs, and develop critical technology like AI and chips,” Loeffler added. “I believe we must continue to empower entrepreneurs from all walks of life, including women and veterans.”

Loeffler is part of a team that Trump is putting together that aims to put “America first.”

SMALL BUSINESS OPTIMISM JUMPS TO 6-YEAR HIGH FOLLOWING TRUMP WIN

President Donald Trump arrives with Sen. Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., at a campaign rally in 2021. (Alex Wong/Getty Images / Getty Images)

She wrote about the SBA’s founding mission of empowering small businesses and growing the economy, needing to be restored.

“That’s exactly what the America First agenda does – by ending inflation, cutting taxes, unleashing American energy dominance, slashing regulation, and reining in fraud, waste, and abuse across government,” she wrote. “In the last four years, small business has lost ground – burdened by inflation, big government regulation, and uncertainty that threatens the very existence of Main Street. President Trump’s proven agenda will restore the small business economy, marking a return to ‘Made in America’ – with a golden era of prosperity and growth.”

Loeffler and her husband Jeff have long been major donors to Republican causes and candidates, including Trump. Loeffler served as co-chair of Trump’s inaugural committee.

GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE

If confirmed by the Senate, Loeffler says she would donate her annual federal pay of approximately $207,500 to charity.

The pledge by Loeffler, whose net worth is estimated at roughly $1 billion, follows her actions in Congress from 2019 to 2021, when she donated her Senate salary of $174,000 per year to over 40 Georgia charities and nonprofits.

Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.

January 29, 2025
Scoop: Trump HHS secretary nominee RFK Jr to stress he’s not ‘anti-vaccine’ at confirmation hearing

EXCLUSIVE: Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), will emphasize that he is not “anti-vaccine” when he appears Wednesday in Congress at the first of two straight days of Senate confirmation hearings.

“I want to make sure the Committee is clear about a few things. News reports have claimed that I am anti-vaccine or anti-industry. Well, I am neither; I am pro-safety,” Kennedy will say in his opening statement in front of the Senate Finance Committee.

The statement was shared first with Fox News ahead of the appearance by Kennedy, who, if confirmed, would have control over 18 powerful federal agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

And Kennedy will emphasize he’s not “the enemy of food producers. American farms are the bedrock of our culture and national security … I want to work with our farmers and food producers to remove burdensome regulations and unleash American ingenuity.”

HOW KENNEDY MAY BE TARGETED OVER HIS VACCINE VIEWS

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is President Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of Health and Human Services. (Jon Cherry/Getty Images)

The hearing, as well as a Thursday hearing in front of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (a courtesy hearing as only the Senate Finance Committee will vote on Kennedy’s confirmation), are expected to be contentious because of Kennedy’s controversial vaccine views, including his repeated claims linking vaccines to autism, which have been debunked by scientific research.

Kennedy also served for years as chair or chief legal counsel for Children’s Health Defense, the nonprofit organization he founded that has advocated against vaccines and sued the federal government numerous times, including a challenge over the authorization of the COVID vaccine for children.

THE TAKE ON KENNEDY’S CONFIRMATION FROM FOX NEWS’ SENIOR MEDICAL ANALYST

After Trump’s convincing November presidential election victory, Kennedy has said he won’t “take away anybody’s vaccines.”

And in his opening statement at his confirmation hearing, Kennedy will spotlight that “all of my kids are vaccinated, and I believe vaccines have a critical role in healthcare.”

But he will also say, “In my advocacy, I have disturbed the status quo by asking uncomfortable questions. Well, I won’t apologize for that. We have massive health problems in this country that we must face honestly.”

HHS is a massive federal department, with approximately 90,000 people and an annual budget of roughly $1.7 trillion. And Kennedy has said he wants to shift the focus of the agencies he would oversee toward promotion of a healthy lifestyle and the root causes of chronic diseases, which has garnered some bipartisan support in Congress.

Kennedy has said he would aim to overhaul dietary guidelines and take aim at ultra-processed foods, among other initiatives.

“American farms are the bedrock of our culture and national security,” Kennedy is expected to say in his opening statement. “I want to work with our farmers and food producers to remove burdensome regulations and unleash American ingenuity.”

He will warn that “the United States has worse health than any other developed nation, yet we spend far more on healthcare — at least double; and in some cases, triple.”

TULSI GABBARD, RFK JR EXPECTED TO FACE OPPOSITION IN SENATE CONFIRMATION HEARINGS

And he will “thank President Trump for entrusting me to deliver on his promise to make America healthy again.”

“Should I be so privileged to be confirmed, we will make sure our tax dollars support healthy foods. We will scrutinize the chemical additives in our food supply. We will remove the financial conflicts of interest in our agencies. We will create an honest, unbiased, science-driven HHS, accountable to the President, to Congress, and to the American people. We will reverse the chronic disease epidemic and put the nation back on the road to health,” Kennedy is expected to say.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. stands alongside a bust of his late uncle, former President John F. Kennedy, outside City Hall in Nashua, N.H., on June 20, 2023. (Fox News/Paul Steinhauser )

The 71-year-old Kennedy, the longtime environmental activist and crusader who is the scion of the nation’s most storied political dynasty, launched a long-shot campaign for the Democrat presidential nomination against then-President Biden in April 2023. But six months later, he switched to an independent run for the White House.

Kennedy made major headlines again last August when he dropped his presidential bid and endorsed Trump. While Kennedy had long identified as a Democrat and repeatedly invoked his late father, former Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, and his late uncle, former President John F. Kennedy – who were both assassinated in the 1960s – Kennedy in recent years built relationships with far-right leaders due in part to his high-profile vaccine skepticism.

Trump announced soon after the November election that he would nominate Kennedy to his Cabinet to run HHS.

Then-Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump welcomes Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to the stage at a Turning Point Action campaign rally on Oct. 23, 2024, in Duluth, Ga. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Opposition to Kennedy’s nomination has been fierce, with advocacy groups running ad campaigns urging senators to vote against his confirmation.

Kennedy, in his opening statement, will “thank my wife Cheryl, who is with us here today; and all the members of my large extended family, for the love that they have so generously shared. Ours has always been a family devoted to public service, and I look forward to continuing that legacy.”

But many members of the Kennedy family were very vocal in their opposition to his primary challenge against Biden as well as his independent White House run.

And on the eve of his confirmation hearing, his well-known cousin, Caroline Kennedy, sent a letter to senators on Tuesday that charged Kennedy as one who “preys on the desperation of parents and sick children” and whose actions “have cost lives.”

She seemed to be referring to Kennedy’s connection to a measles outbreak in 2019 in the Pacific Island nation of Samoa, where 83 people died.

Among those vocal in their opposition to Kennedy is Democrat Gov. Josh Green of Hawaii, a former emergency room physician who traveled to Samoa to help treat the deadly measles outbreak, including vaccinating tens of thousands of individuals.

“Our people deserve a Health and Human Services Secretary who champions science, supports vaccines, and is committed to lowering costs while safeguarding health care access,” the governor said in a statement. “Mr. Kennedy’s lack of experience raises serious concerns about the future of critical programs like Medicare and Medicaid.”

It’s not just Democrats who have issues with Kennedy.

Social conservative Republicans aiming to curtail abortion rights take issue with his past comments in support of abortion rights.

On the eve of the confirmation hearing, former Vice President Mike Pence’s Advancing American Freedom public advocacy group launched a modest ad campaign opposing Kennedy based on his abortion views.

“We need leadership that defends life and protects the most vulnerable—not radical policies that undermine our values,” the group wrote in a social media post.

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Kennedy met with senators again on Tuesday, on the eve of his confirmation hearing, but didn’t take shouted questions from reporters.

But veteran Trump administration official Katie Miller told Fox News Digital that Kennedy’s “prepared and excited” for the hearings.

Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in New Hampshire.

January 29, 2025
‘Red flag’: Education activist rails against ‘dangerous’ Trump nominee for key education post

President Trump is facing pushback from conservatives on social media, as well as an education activist who spoke to Fox News Digital, over his nomination of Dr. Penny Schwinn for deputy secretary at the Department of Education.

“Being from Tennessee and being under Schwinn and her Berkeley-educated, radical views, I was actually shocked when I heard that she was being nominated by President Trump because she is the most unlike President Trump, and her policies are not the same,” Laurie Cardoza Moore, member of the Tennessee Textbook and Instructional Materials Quality Commission and founder of Proclaiming Justice To the Nations, told Fox News Digital about Trump’s nomination of Schwinn.

Trump announced his nomination of Schwinn, the former commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Education, in a recent Truth Social post, saying that she is “committed to delivering the American Dream to the next Generation by returning Education BACK TO THE STATES.”

Moore told Fox News Digital that Schwinn’s record is not compatible with the agenda Trump is trying to implement and fears that someone recommended Schwinn to Trump without fully explaining her background.

NEW GUIDE HELPS PARENTS PROTECT KIDS AGAINST ‘WOKE’ IDEOLOGIES IN SCHOOLS

Education activist Laurie Cardoza Moore told Fox News Digital she has significant concerns about Trump’s Deputy Education Secretary pick.

“I decided to call on President Trump to rescind his nomination of Penny Schwinn for the deputy secretary of Education appointment because of the policies that she implemented here in the state of Tennessee. You know, I fought for a couple of years for Gov. Lee to call for her resignation because of her, her policies, her values,” Moore said.

“But under her leadership, and this is what’s important for the audience to understand, the children in Tennessee — and this is not just Tennessee because she’s been to Texas and Florida — but our kids were subjected to pornographic and anti-Semitic content in library books, for example, ‘Me and Earl and the Dying Girl’ was one of them. She exposed Tennessee children to dark content like the Wit and Wisdom curriculum, all of which violate child indecency laws and obscenity laws here in the state of Tennessee, which is really troubling to me. She developed a plan to conduct child welfare checks on Tennessee children from birth to 18 to make sure they had their vaccinations.”

Moore expressed concerns that the Berkeley-educated Schwinn hired a math expert in Tennessee, Rachael Maves, who promoted “math equity” in California, along with Schwinn’s support of the Wit and Wisdom program, which critics say is a mask for CRT.

TRUMP DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION DISMISSES ‘MERITLESS’ BOOK BAN COMPLAINTS

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives at an election night watch party at the Palm Beach Convention Center, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (Evan Vucci/AP)

Schwinn was grilled by Tennessee lawmakers in 2020 over her handling of textbooks and contracts but defended her actions taken as education commissioner.

Schwinn was hired by former University of Florida President Ben Sasse, a vocal Trump critic, in 2023 and was one of several employees to face criticism for racking up thousands in travel costs in order to work from home before she was fired in 2024, WUSF reported.

While Trump has garnered widespread praise from conservatives for the majority of his appointments, many conservatives on social media echoed Moore’s concerns about Schwinn.

“President Trump needs the full story on Penny Schwinn’s education history in TN,” conservative commentator Robby Starbuck posted on X. “I really hope he reconsiders her nomination.”

“Penny says her core value is ‘Equity for all… no matter what.’ On her watch TN’s Department of Education even embraced DEI for hiring teachers. She may be a very nice person but naming her Under Secretary of Education at this critical juncture isn’t a good idea when she’s been a believer in this toxic DEI ideology.”

Tennessee Commissioner of Education Dr Penny Schwinn testified at the House Education Committee on Capitol Hill on July 23, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Getty Images)

“Anytime someone claims their desired outcome is equity, understand they’re pushing a communist agenda,” former NCAA swimmer and conservative commentator Riley Gaines posted on X. “NO to Penny Schwinn.”

Country music star John Rich also criticized Schwinn in a post on X, saying that Trump’s decision needs to be “reversed.”

Other conservatives came to Schwinn’s defense, including journalist Chris Rufo, who is considered the most effective critic of Critical Race Theory in many conservative circles.

“President Trump and Secretary McMahon selected Penny for a reason, and we should all work together to make sure she is successful,” Rufo wrote on X.

Schwinn’s appointment also earned praise from GOP Sen. Tim Scott, who posted on X, “The closest thing to magic in America is a quality education. With @realDonaldTrump, @Linda_McMahon, and Penny Schwinn leading our education policy, we will empower parents and prioritize students.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“God does not give brains out based on zip code or income. Let’s unleash school choice so all students can thrive.”

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders posted on X that McMahon and Schwinn are “both champions on parental empowerment and education freedom through universal school choice we’re implementing in Arkansas.”

Many conservatives have made the case that Trump has a “mandate” from the voters to appoint whoever he sees fit to these high-profile positions, but Moore called Schwinn a “red flag” who will not adhere to Trump’s agenda in the department, specifically his plan to downsize or even eliminate the department.

“Somehow somebody has put the bug in Trump’s ear that he should nominate her,” Moore told Fox News Digital. “But President Trump, you know, I know that he’s very concerned about the future and the state of education, and Penny Schwinn is the last person. She would embarrass him ultimately down the road because she would implement her left policies, her Berkeley-educated policies, and introduce them to the whole country. Very dangerous.”

Andrew Mark Miller is a reporter at Fox News. Find him on Twitter @andymarkmiller and email tips to [email protected].

January 28, 2025
First on Fox: Trump Cabinet nominee Loeffler pledges to donate salary to charity if confirmed

EXCLUSIVE: Former Sen. Kelly Loeffler, President Donald Trump’s nominee to serve as Small Business Administration (SBA) administrator, plans to donate her entire federal salary to charity, Fox News Digital has learned.

Loeffler, a prominent business executive and philanthropist who served as a senator from Georgia for two years, goes in front of the Senate’s Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee on Wednesday for her confirmation hearing.

If confirmed, Loeffler says she would donate her annual federal pay of approximately $207,500 to charity.

CLICK HERE FOR FOX NEWS REPORTING ON PRESIDENT TRUMP’S FIRST 100 DAYS IN OFFICE

Small Business Administration nominee Kelly Loeffler arrives for a meeting with Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, at his office on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

The pledge by Loeffler, whose net worth is estimated at roughly $1 billion, follows her actions in Congress from 2019 to 2021, when she donated her Senate salary of $174,000 per year to over 40 Georgia charities and nonprofits.

Among those included were food banks, faith groups and organizations opposed to abortion, foster care/adoption groups as well as organizations promoting health care, agriculture, education, law enforcement, and disaster relief.

Loeffler also donated $1 million to Phoebe Putney Hospital in Albany at the height of the pandemic, when the city in Southwest Georgia was one of the hardest hit in the nation.

Then-Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler speaks during a campaign event at Valdosta Regional Airport in Valdosta, Georgia, Dec. 5, 2020. (Reuters/Dustin Chambers)

Loeffler, who hails from a family of small business owners and entrepreneurs, was raised working on the family farm in Illinois. After becoming the first in her family to graduate college, she spent nearly three decades working her way up in the private sector.

Along with her husband Jeff, Loeffler built a Fortune 500 financial services and technology company from 100 employees to 15,000. Loeffler later launched another company, named Bakkt, as its founding CEO and first employee. She was also a part owner of the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream.

Loeffler and her husband have long been major donors to Republican causes and and candidates, including Trump. Loeffler served as co-chair of the president-elect’s inaugural committee.

President Donald Trump and Sen. Kelly Loeffler attend a campaign rally at Dalton Regional Airport on Jan. 4, 2021, in Dalton, Georgia. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

“Like President Trump, Senator Loeffler left behind a successful career in the private sector to advance the America First agenda. Should she be confirmed, she will continue the practice of donating her federal salary to charities and nonprofits across the country – and put her full focus on working to make the Small Business Administration a gateway to the American Dream for entrepreneurs across the country,” Loeffler spokeswoman Caitlin O’Dea told Fox News.

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

While successful in the business world, Loeffler was not well known until becoming a politician.

After GOP Sen. Johnny Isakson resigned from the Senate at the end of 2019 due to his deteriorating health, Republican Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia appointed Loeffler to fill Isakson’s unexpired term until the next regular election.

Loeffler narrowly lost to Democrat Raphael Warnock in a runoff election in January 2021, after no candidate topped 50% of the vote in a crowded field of contenders in the November 2020 Senate election.

Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in New Hampshire.

January 28, 2025
FBI director nominee Kash Patel broke hostage rescue protocol: whistleblower

Senate Democrats have obtained a whistleblower report claiming that President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the FBI, Kash Patel, violated protocol during a hostage rescue mission in October 2020.

The whistleblower letter, obtained by Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., claimed that Patel leaked news that two Americans and the remains of a third were being transferred to U.S. custody from Yemen, where they had been held hostage by Houthi rebels. The whistleblower claims Patel leaked news of the trade to the Wall Street Journal hours before the hostages were actually in U.S. custody, potentially endangering the deal.

The protocol of the multi-agency group in charge of the mission was to withhold information about hostage deals until the subjects were both in U.S. custody and their families had been notified, according to the whistleblower.

A transition official pushed back on the report in a statement to Fox News Digital on Tuesday, saying Patel has a “track record of success.”

“Mr. Patel was a public defender, decorated prosecutor, and accomplished national security official that kept Americans safe,” the official said. “He has a track record of success in every branch of government, from the court room to congressional hearing room to the situation room. There is no veracity to this anonymous source’s complaints about protocol.”

TRUMP TO REINSTATE SERVICE MEMBERS DISCHARGED FOR NOT GETTING COVID-19 VACCINE

FBI nominee Kash Patel allegedly violated protocol during a hostage exchange deal, according to a new whistleblower report obtained by Senate Democrats. (Reuters)

In the October 2020 case, the deal went forward without any issues, with the two Americans and the remains of the third being transferred to U.S. custody. In exchange, the U.S. arranged for the release of some 200 Houthi fighters being held prisoner in Saudi Arabia.

Alexander Gray, who served as Chief of Staff for the White House National Security Council under Trump’s first administration, also called the allegations “simply absurd.”

Robert C. Obrien, who served as National Security Advisor from 2019 to 2021, argued that the whistleblower was jeopardizing decades of bipartisan work on hostage deals by coming forward.

Senate Democrats delivered the whistleblower letter on Monday morning to Acting FBI Director Brian Driscoll, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Acting Treasury Secretary David Lebryk and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CBS News reported.

The report comes just days before Patel is set to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee for an extensive confirmation hearing.

TULSI GABBARD CHANGES TUNE ON CONTROVERSIAL INTELLIGENCE TOOL FOLLOWING GOP LOBBYING

The Senate’s “advice and consent” role allows the body to review the president’s appointments and provide oversight on key positions. The picks require a majority vote in the Senate with Republicans holding a 53-47 vote advantage over Democrats.

Sen. Dick Durbin obtained the whistleblower report relating to Patel. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Patel has called for radical changes at the FBI and was a fierce and vocal critic of the bureau’s work as it investigated ties between Russia and Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.

He held numerous national security roles during the first Trump administration and was the chief investigator in the congressional probe into alleged Trump-Russia collusion, uncovering government surveillance abuse that led to the appointment of two special counsels: one who determined that there had been no such collusion and another who determined the entire premise of the FBI’s original investigation was bogus.

Several of President Donald Trump’s cabinet nominees face rough paths toward nomination. (Evan Vucci/AP)

Patel was an integral part of the creation of a memo released by then-Chair Devin Nunes in February 2018, which detailed the DOJ’s and FBI’s surveillance of former Trump campaign aide Carter Page under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

He’s been a loyal ally to Trump for years, finding common cause over their shared skepticism of government surveillance and the “deep state” — a catchall used by Trump to refer to unelected members of government bureaucracy.

Fox News’ Michael Dorgan contributed to this report

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.

January 28, 2025
Trump’s transportation secretary nominee advances to final Senate vote

Sean Duffy, the president’s pick to lead the Department of Transportation, has advanced to the final round of the Senate confirmation process that will decide whether he assumes a top Cabinet position in President Donald Trump’s administration.

Duffy was tapped by Trump to head the transportation agency for the next four years, undergoing a confirmation hearing with the Senate Commerce, Science & Transportation Committee, which advanced his candidacy with bipartisan support.

The Senate held a cloture vote for Duffy on Monday, which passed unanimously.

TULSI GABBARD, RFK JR. EXPECTED TO FACE OPPOSITION IN SENATE CONFIRMATION HEARINGS

Sean Duffy greets senators at his confirmation hearing. (Fox News Digital/Charlie Creitz)

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

The cloture vote came just minutes after the Senate voted to confirm Scott Bessent to serve as the secretary of the treasury.

Then-Rep. Sean Duffy leaves the House Republican Conference meeting in the Capitol on May 8, 2018. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The Senate’s final vote on whether to confirm Duffy, a former Republican congressman, to the Cabinet post is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.

Aubrie Spady is a Writer for Fox News Digital.

January 28, 2025
Trump names Sean Curran as nominee to lead Secret Service

Trump formally nominated Sean Curran, the head of his personal Secret Service security detail, to serve as director of the U.S. Secret Service on Wednesday.

In a Truth Social post on Wednesday, Trump wrote that it was an “honor” to appoint Curran.

“Sean is a Great Patriot, who has protected my family over the past few years, and that is why I trust him to lead the Brave Men and Women of the United States Secret Service,” the president wrote.

Trump went on to call Curran a “brilliant leader, who is capable of directing and leading operational security plans for some of the most complex Special Security Events in the History of our Country, and the World.”

SECRET SERVICE DIRECTOR CHEATLE RESIGNS AFTER MOUNTING PRESSURE IN WAKE OF TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT

Donald Trump is seen with blood on his face surrounded by Secret Service agents, including Curran. (Rebecca Droke/AFP via Getty Images)

“He proved his fearless courage when he risked his own life to help save mine from an assassin’s bullet in Butler, Pennsylvania,” Trump said. “I have complete and total confidence in Sean to make the United States Secret Service stronger than ever before.”

This is a breaking news story. Check back with us for updates.

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

Andrea Margolis is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. Readers can send story tips to [email protected].

January 23, 2025