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Tag: resign

  • If Zelenskyy did resign, who might lead Ukraine?

    If Zelenskyy did resign, who might lead Ukraine?

    Questions surrounding the resignation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sparked on Friday after Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-SC, suggested he may need to step down after a spat erupted between him and President Donald Trump during live coverage.

    But that wasn’t the first time the Republican Party has  suggested such a move, and it began earlier this month after Trump pushed the idea following a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

    Trump first said Ukraine should hold elections after falsely claiming he only enjoyed a 4% approval rating, though under Ukraine’s constitution the country cannot hold elections when Martial Law is in effect during a time of war. 

    President Donald Trump, right, meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office at the White House, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025 in Washington.  (AP Photo/ Mystyslav Chernov)

    WORLD LEADERS BACK ZELENSKYY FOLLOWING TRUMP, VANCE OVAL OFFICE SPAT

    Zelenskyy, whose approval rating is closer to 63% according to a Reuters report, on Friday once again reiterated he would resign if Kyiv was granted NATO membership. 

    Ultimately, he emphasized during an interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier, that just like in the U.S. where “Americans vote for American president,” just as “each European country vote for their president,” the same sovereign right is held in Ukraine – suggesting it is not a negotiating tactic he will allow Trump to use to appeal to Putin. 

    But who may be in the running should Zelenskyy ever decide to step down?

    Vitali Klitschko

    Mayor of Kyiv Vitali Klitschko

    Mayor of Kyiv Vitali Klitschko at the site of a missile hitting a high-rise residential building on June 24, 2023 in Kyiv, Ukraine.  (Oleksandr Gusev/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

    The former boxer-turned politician who has served as the mayor of Kyiv since 2014 with strong support among those living in the capital city, has also proven himself on the international stage.

    In a trip to Brussels earlier this month, Klitschko stressed the need to stand behind Zelenskyy as he fielded verbal attacks from the Trump administration while also trying to counter Putin’s war. 

    The voice of support for the Ukrainian leaders was particularly noticeable given his previous criticism of Zelenskyy.

    During his trip last week, Klitschko reportedly emphasized that an election could “destroy the country from within” while it faces existential threats from the north and on its eastern flank.

    ZELENSKYY SPEAKS OUT AFTER PUBLIC SPAT WITH TRUMP, VANCE, SAYS DUSTUP ‘BAD FOR BOTH SIDES’

    Ruslan Stefanchuk

    Ruslan Stefanchuk

    Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk (L) shakes hands with Head of the Security Service of Ukraine Vasyl Malyuk (R) during the ‘Ukraine. Year 2025’ forum on February 23, 2025 in Kyiv, Ukraine. Forum ‘Ukraine. Year 2025’ is dedicated to the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It discusses the most important issues of the country’s development. (Photo by Ivan Antypenko/Suspilne Ukraine/JSC UA:PBC/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

    Stefanchuk, the chairman of Ukraine’s Parliament, has also reportedly been floated as a potential future contender for the top role in Ukraine. 

    Though Stefanchuk is said to be a top ally of Zelenskyy, he has ardently rejected the recent international suggestions  that Ukraine hold elections.

    In a Facebook post earlier this month he argued that “If there is anyone who needs to be forced into real, free and fair elections, it is [Putin].”

    He noted that Ukraine needs “bullets, not ballots,” according to a report by Newsweek. 

    Kyrylo Budanov

    Kyrylo Budanov

    Chief of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine Kyrylo Budanov gives an interview in Kyiv, Ukraine.  (Photo by Vitalii Nosach/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

    Head of Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence agency, Budanov, could be another who may be a contender for the top job in Kyiv given.

    Budanov, who has not expressed a desire to seek high office according to a Newsweek report, happens to have an even higher trust rating than Zelenskyy among Ukrainians. 

    The military intelligence head earlier this month apparently voiced his confidence that Ukraine may finally be able to reach a peace deal after three years of war.

    “I think it is going to happen. There are most of the components for it to happen,” Budanov reportedly said during a YouTube interview. “How long it will be, how effective it will be – [is] another question.”

    General Valery Zaluzhny

    Valery Zaluzhny, Ukraine's top general, sitting down a meeting

    Valery Zaluzhny, Former Commander-in-Chief-of-the-Armed-Forces-of-Ukraine. (@CinC_AFU)

    The former Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, Zaluzhny, and presently his country’s ambassador to the U.K. is seen as a popular and credible successor to Zelenskyy if the president were to step aside. 

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    Zaluzhny and Zelenskyy have had their differences, resulting in the general being dismissed from his military post in 2024. Carnegie Politika blog recently reported that his popularity is strong, with 80% of Ukranians saying they trust him. The publication also noted that a hypothetical second-round runoff between the two resulted in a statistical tie.

    Zaluzhny has not said if he would challenge Zelenskyy or if he was even interested in running for the president. 

    Caitlin McFall is a Reporter at Fox News Digital covering Politics, U.S. and World news.

  • NYC Mayor Eric Adams refuses to resign in sermon: ‘I have a mission to finish’

    NYC Mayor Eric Adams refuses to resign in sermon: ‘I have a mission to finish’

    New York City Mayor Eric Adams told churchgoers on Sunday that he’s on a mission from God and won’t resign from office as he faces allegations of a quid pro quo with President Donald Trump’s administration.

    Adams made the remarks during a sermon at Maranatha Baptist Church in Queens, telling the gathering, “I am going nowhere,” the New York Post reported.

    “I have a mission to finish, the mission that God put me on many years ago,” Adams said, adding that “God has fortified me.”

    Adams told “Fox & Friends” in an interview on Friday that he plans to run for re-election as a Democrat.

    NEW YORK CITY MAYOR ERIC ADAMS SAYS HE WILL RUN FOR RE-ELECTION AS DEMOCRAT

    New York City Mayor Eric Adams told Fox News last week that he plans to run for reelection as a Democrat. (Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images, File)

    Adams, a Democrat who said he was targeted by the Biden administration, was indicted in September on charges including bribery, soliciting campaign contributions from foreign nationals, wire fraud and conspiracy. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

    The decision to drop the case against Adams came as part of Trump’s effort to overhaul the Justice Department, which he said has been weaponized against political opponents.

    Attorney General Pam Bondi defended the decision to drop the case, telling Fox News in an interview Friday that Adams was targeted after he criticized the Biden administration’s immigration policies.

    Several senior Justice Department officials resigned in protest Thursday rather than comply with an order to drop a bribery case against Adams.

    After the charges were dropped, Adams was accused of a quid pro quo over his willingness to work with the Trump administration crackdown to curb illegal immigration, and has faced calls to resign.

    “I just find it so amazing — the most sanctified among us are calling for me to step down,” Adams told the church gathering. “I’m not going to step down. I’m going to step up.

    NYC MAYOR ERIC ADAMS PROMISES TO REOPEN ICE OFFICE ON RIKERS ISLAND AFTER MEETING WITH TRUMP BORDER CZAR

    New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Thursday evening that she was considering removing Adams from office amid the allegations of a quid pro quo.

    Kathy Hochul speaks

    New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has faced pressure to fire Adams amid the allegations. (Howard Schnapp/Newsday RM via Getty Images, File)

    “The allegations are extremely concerning and serious, but I cannot as the governor of this state have a knee-jerk, politically motivated reaction like a lot of other people are saying right now,” she said.

    Hochul is the only state official who has the power to remove Adams from his position.

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    Hochul further stated, “I have to do what’s smart, what’s right and I’m consulting with other leaders in government at this time.”

    Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

  • FBI Agents across the country are told to resign, retire or be fired

    FBI Agents across the country are told to resign, retire or be fired

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    Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove sent a memo to the acting FBI director Friday evening directing him to terminate eight FBI employees and identify all current and former bureau personnel assigned to Jan. 6 and Hamas cases for an internal review, Fox News has learned. 

    Bove’s memo to acting FBI Director Brian Driscoll, which was obtained by Fox News, asserts the Department of Justice cannot trust the FBI employees to carry out President Donald Trump’s agenda.

    The subject of the memo is “Terminations.”

    JUSTICE DEPARTMENT FIRES MORE THAN A DOZEN KEY OFFICIALS ON FORMER SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH’S TEAM

    “This memorandum sets forth a series of directives, authorized by the Acting Attorney General, regarding personnel matters to be addressed at the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” Bove wrote. 

    Bove, a former Trump defense attorney, directed Driscoll to fire eight specific FBI employees by Monday, Feb. 3, at 5:30 p.m. 

    Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, a former Trump attorney, directed the FBI acting director to fire seven specific employees by Monday. (Angela Weiss/Pool/Getty Images)

    “I do not believe that the current leadership of the Justice Department can trust these FBI employees to assist in implementing the President’s agenda faithfully,” Bove wrote in the memo. 

    Bove cited comments made by President Trump on his first day back in office, in which Trump accused the Biden administration’s law enforcement and intelligence agencies of going after Biden’s political adversaries.

    “The American people have witnessed the previous administration engage in a systemic campaign against its perceived political opponents, weaponizing the legal force of numerous Federal law enforcement agencies and the Intelligence Community against those perceived political opponents in the form of investigations, prosecutions, civil enforcement actions, and other related actions,” Bove’s memo noted. “This includes the FBI.”

    ANTI-TRUMP FBI AGENT RESPONSIBLE FOR OPENING JACK SMITH ELECTOR CASE AGAINST PRESIDENT: WHISTLEBLOWER

    Bove said the FBI’s “prior leadership actively participated in what President Trump appropriately described as ‘a grave national injustice that has been perpetrated upon the American people over the last four years’ with respect to events that occurred at or near the United States Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

    “The weaponization of the FBI’s security clearance process is similarly troubling,” Bove continued. “So too are issues relating to the FBI’s reticence to address instructions and requests from, among other places, the Justice Department.” 

    Justice department seal

    The seal for the Justice Department in Washington Nov. 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

    Bove said the problems “are symptomatic of deficiencies in previous leadership that must now be addressed.”

    Bove wrote that he “deem[s] these terminations necessary, pursuant to President Trump’s January 20, 2025 Executive Order, entitled ‘Ending the Weaponization of the Federal Government’ in order to continue the process of restoring a culture of integrity, credibility, accountability, and responsiveness to the leadership and directives of President Trump and the Justice Department.” 

    Beyond the terminations of the eight employees, Bove directed Driscoll to identify by noon Tuesday, Feb. 4, “all current and former FBI personnel assigned at any time to investigations and/or prosecutions” relating to “the events that occurred at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021” and United States v. Haniyeh, a terrorism case against six Hamas leaders charged with planning and carrying out the Oct. 7, 2023, attack in Israel. 

    The defendants in that case include Ismail Haniyeh and Yahya Sinwar, high-level Hamas leaders believed to have been assassinated in 2024 by Israeli operatives.

    MAJOR FBI CHANGES KASH PATEL COULD MAKE ON DAY 1 IF CONFIRMED AS DIRECTOR

    Bove ordered that the lists of employees Driscoll should compile “should include relevant supervisory personnel in FBI regional offices and field divisions, as well as at FBI headquarters.” 

    “For each employee included in the list, provide the current title, office to which the person is assigned, role in the investigation or prosecution, and date of last activity relating to the investigation or prosecution,” Bove directed. “Upon timely receipt of the requested information, the Office of the Deputy Attorney General will commence a review process to determine whether any additional personnel actions are necessary.” 

    Fox News also obtained the letter Driscoll sent to bureau employees Friday evening after receiving Bove’s memo. In it, Driscoll notified employees he was directed to fire the specific employees Bove identified “unless these employees have retired beforehand.” 

    “I have been personally in touch with each of these impacted employees,” Driscoll wrote. 

    FBi building

    The J. Edgar Hoover FBI Building in Washington, D.C.  (Brooks Kraft/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)

    As for the directive to compile a list of FBI employees involved in the Jan. 6 and Hamas cases, Driscoll said that request “encompasses thousands of employees across the country who have supported these investigative efforts.” 

    “I am one of those employees, as is acting Deputy Director Kissane,” Driscoll wrote. “As we’ve said since the moment we agreed to take on these roles, we are going to follow the law, follow FBI policy, and do what’s in the best interest of the workforce and the American people — always.

    “We will be back in touch with more information as soon as we can. In the meantime, stay safe, and take care of each other.” 

    The FBI declined to comment on any personnel matters, including names, titles or numbers.

    The DOJ directive comes after Acting Attorney General James McHenry earlier this week fired more than a dozen key officials who worked on special counsel Jack Smith’s team prosecuting Trump. Fox News Digital exclusively reported the action Monday. 

    Jack smith

    Special counsel Jack Smith delivers remarks on an indictment, including four felony counts against former U.S. President Donald Trump at the Justice Department Aug. 1, 2023, in Washington, D.C. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

    A DOJ official Monday used similar language to that seen in Bove’s letter, telling Fox News Digital McHenry “does not trust these officials to assist in faithfully implementing the president’s agenda.” 

    The directive also comes a day after Fox News Digital exclusively reported that whistleblower emails were shared with Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, revealing that a former FBI agent, Timothy Thibault, allegedly broke protocol and played a critical role in opening and advancing the bureau’s original investigation related to the 2020 election, tying President Donald Trump to the probe without sufficient predication. 

    Bove’s memo also comes a day after President Trump’s nominee to lead the bureau, Kash Patel, testified during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. 

    Trump and allies have maintained the law enforcement agency was weaponized against him and conservatives across the nation. 

    The House Judiciary Committee, for months, investigated the FBI for the creation of a memo targeting Catholics and parents at school board meetings during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

    President Trump on Friday evening denied any involvement in the DOJ directive. 

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    “We have some very bad people over there,” Trump said Friday. “They came after a lot of people like me, but they came after a lot of people. No, I wasn’t involved in that.

    “I’ll have to see what is exactly going on after this is finished,” he added. “But if they fired some people over there, that’s a good thing, because they were very bad. They were very corrupt people, very corrupt, and they hurt our country very badly with the weaponization. They used, they used the Justice Department to go after their political opponent, which in itself is illegal. And obviously it didn’t work.”