EXCLUSIVE: A former aide to ousted Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., is now being employed by Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., Fox News Digital has learned.

Santos’ former communications director, Gabrielle Lipsky, started in a similar role for Mace this month, two sources told Fox News Digital. Her name and email were confirmed in a call to Mace’s Mount Pleasant district office on Monday afternoon.

Lipsky resigned from Santos’ office in mid-November, shortly after a damning report by the House Ethics Committee found that the former congressman misused campaign funds and accused him of violating criminal law, Semafor reported at the time. 

The House voted to expel Santos on Dec. 1 shortly after the report was released. 

Lipsky did not respond to multiple emails from Fox News Digital regarding the new role. A voicemail was left at Mace’s Washington, D.C., office Friday similarly seeking confirmation, but was not returned.

The staffer defended working for Santos last February in an interview with Business Insider, as revelations were breaking that the ex-congressman lied about his work history, education and family heritage, among other details. ‘At the end of the day, the congressman has a job to do, and he needs people to help him do that,’ she said at the time.

Santos is facing 23 federal charges related to misuse of donor funds, identity theft and other accusations. The most recent charges were levied against him in October.

The report of Lipsky’s hiring comes after Mace’s office lost several senior staffers in recent months, including her chief of staff, deputy chief and communications director.T

Mace was accused of making lewd comments in the office by three sources who spoke anonymously with the Daily Mail in December. 

A Daily Beast report from November claimed Mace had a ‘handbook’ for staffers that allegedly said, among other things, that her office must send out at least one press release per day and put her on TV at least nine times per week.

Mace told Fox News Digital during a Nov. 3 interview that she had not read the report, and shrugged off its accusations.

‘If someone wants to attack me for working hard and being demanding and wanting to ensure that our staff is organized and working hard for the almost 800,000 constituents that they represent, game on. Bring it. I don’t care. We’re going to continue to work hard for the Lowcountry, for South Carolina, and for the nation,’ she said at the time.

The South Carolina Republican was one of eight House GOP lawmakers who voted to oust Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., as speaker last year. 

The Israeli military knows the location of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar but has not launched strikes against him because he is using Israeli hostages as human shields, according to multiple reports in Israeli media.

Israel has been publicly searching for Sinwar in southern Gaza for weeks, with reports suggesting he is somewhere in Hamas’ labyrinth of tunnels beneath the city of Khan Younis. The IDF has refused to comment on reports that it knows the terrorist leader’s location, however.

‘The reports coming out of Israel over the last two days echo what I have heard for a few weeks,’ Jonathan Schanzer, vice president at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told The Times of Israel. ‘Namely, the Israelis have a good idea where Yahya Sinwar is hiding.’

Israel believes there are at least 133 Israeli and foreign hostages being held in Gaza, though it is unclear how many of them remain alive.

Israeli forces took over Sinwar’s private compound in Gaza weeks ago, but said the leader had long since fled the residence.

Reports from some hostages who have been released say Sinwar met with them a few days after they were taken from Israel into Gaza.

‘Sinwar was with us three-four days after we got there,’ Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, told the Davar news outlet. ‘I asked him how he wasn’t ashamed, to do such a thing to people who for years support peace? He didn’t answer. He was quiet.’

The reports about Sinwar also indicate that Israel knows the location of at least some of the remaining Israeli hostages.

Both sides are currently engaged in negotiations over a potential second round of hostage exchanges. Hamas expressed interest in exchanging 40 Israeli hostages for 120 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons last week, but Israel rejected the deal.

Hamas negotiators also grew cold last week after one of its leaders, Saleh al-Arouri, was killed in an explosion in Beirut, Lebanon. Israel has not claimed responsibility for the strike.

While Israel remains open to a hostage deal on the right terms, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has indicated that the war against Hamas in Gaza will last for ‘many more months.’

President Biden has no plans to fire Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin after the Pentagon chief withheld information from the White House about his extended hospital stay.

A White House official confirmed Biden’s thinking in a statement to Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy. Austin was taken into an intensive care unit for several days without Biden’s knowledge, and the secretive hospital stay has given rise to widespread criticism of Austin, with some calling for him to resign.

‘The President has full trust and confidence in Secretary Austin. He’s looking forward to him being back at the Pentagon,’ the official said.

The Pentagon echoed the White House sentiment in a statement to Fox News Digital on Monday, saying Austin also has no plans to resign.

‘Secretary Austin has no plans to resign,’ Pentagon press secretary Major General Pat Ryder said. ‘He remains focused on conducting his duties as Secretary of Defense in defense of our nation.’

Austin’s hospital stay began on New Year’s Day and lasted multiple days. Details of his visit remain slim, beyond that he was there for an elective procedure.

Former President Trump weighed in on the incident following a firestorm of attacks on Capitol Hill and social media.

‘Failed Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin should be fired immediately for improper professional conduct and dereliction of duty,’ Trump wrote on Sunday. ‘He has been missing for one week, and nobody, including his boss, Crooked Joe Biden, had a clue as to where he was, or might be.’

‘He has performed poorly, and should have been dismissed long ago, along with ‘General’ Mark Milley, for many reasons, but in particular the catastrophic surrender in Afghanistan, perhaps the most embarrassing moment in the history of our Country!’ Trump added.

Austin remains hospitalized at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

FIRST ON FOX: House Republicans have prepared a resolution that would hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress after the first son, in a ‘criminal act,’ defied a congressional subpoena and as part of the House impeachment inquiry against President Biden.

Fox News Digital on Monday obtained the contempt resolution and accompanying report from the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees.

Instead, Hunter Biden appeared on Capitol Hill to deliver a statement to the press, defying that subpoena, and said he would only testify in a public setting.

‘Mr. Biden has violated federal law, and must be held in contempt of Congress,’ the report reads.

The House Oversight report identifies Hunter Biden’s testimony as ‘a critical component of the impeachment inquiry into, among other things, whether Joseph R. Biden, Jr., as Vice President and/or President: (1) took any official action or effected any change in government policy because of money or other things of value provided to himself or his family; (2) abused his office of public trust by providing foreign interests with access to him and his office in exchange for payments to his family or him; or (3) abused his office of public trust by knowingly participating in a scheme to enrich himself or his family by giving foreign interests the impression that they would receive access to him and his office in exchange for payments to his family or him.’

‘The Oversight and Accountability Committee, with the other investigating committees, has accumulated significant evidence suggesting that President Biden knew of, participated in, and profited from foreign business interests engaged in by his son, about which the Committees intended to question Mr. Biden during his deposition,’ the report states.

‘Mr. Biden’s decision to defy the Committees’ subpoenas and deliver prepared remarks prevents the Committee from carrying out its Constitutional oversight function and its impeachment inquiry,’ it continues. 

The report and resolution is set to be considered by the House Oversight Committee during a markup meeting on Wednesday at 10:00 a.m.

‘Hunter Biden’s willful refusal to comply with our subpoenas constitutes contempt of Congress and warrants referral to the appropriate United States Attorney’s Office for prosecution,’ Comer said last week. ‘We will not provide him with special treatment because of his last name.’

The House Judiciary Committee will also hold a similar markup on Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. recommending Hunter Biden be held in contempt of Congress. 

Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin, D-Md., blasted the move, saying there ‘is no precedent for the U.S. House of Representatives holding a private citizen in contempt of Congress who has offered to testify in public, under oath, and on a day of the Committee’s choosing. Chairman Comer repeatedly urged Hunter Biden to appear at a Committee hearing, and Hunter Biden agreed.’ 

Meanwhile, last month, Comer and Jordan expanded their investigation to probe whether President Biden was involved in his son’s ‘scheme’ to defy his subpoena for deposition earlier this month — conduct, they say, ‘could constitute an impeachable offense.’  

The House impeachment inquiry against President Biden was formalized by the full House last month. The inquiry is being led by Comer, Jordan and House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on Sunday that it believes Hamas terrorists have developed cruise missile capabilities with help from Tehran.

In a press release that was obtained by the Times of Israel, the Israeli military said that it found evidence of the advanced capabilities during a raid in the Daraj and Tuffah neighborhoods of Gaza City.

‘[The IDF found] components proving terrorists of the Hamas terror organization studied under Iranian guidance how to operate and build precision components and strategic weapons,’ the IDF said in a statement.

On X, the IDF posted a video of an Israeli soldier going through a cache of weapons and gear while speaking Hebrew.

‘Under Iranian guidance, Hamas operatives learned how to operate and build precision missile production components and strategic weapons,’ the post read.

‘This is indicated by the findings of IDF troops at a weapons production site located in a 100-meter-long Hamas tunnel uncovered in Daraj Tuffah, northern Gaza,’ the Israeli military added.

The news came as the Israel-Hamas war entered its fourth month on Sunday. Recent fighting began on October 7 when Hamas terrorists bombarded Israel with attacks on the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah.

According to a Saturday press conference given by IDF spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, Hamas’ military framework in the northern Gaza Strip has been dismantled by Israel.

‘Now, we are focusing on dismantling Hamas in the central and southern Gaza Strip,’ Hagari explained. ‘We will do this differently, thoroughly, based on the lessons we have learned from the fighting so far.’

Israeli President Isaac Herzog confirmed Sunday that Israel has no plans to expel Palestinians from Gaza, days after members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government suggested that Palestinians should resettle elsewhere.

Herzog made the comments during a Sunday morning appearance on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’ with host Kristen Welker. Far-right Israeli ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir have both suggested in recent days that Israel should encourage a large portion of Palestinians to relocate out of Gaza.

‘I’m saying outright, officially and unequivocally, this is not the Israeli position,’ Herzog said when asked about the controversy. ‘A minister can say whatever he wants. I may not like it, but this is Israeli politics.’

The U.S. State Department aggressively condemned any plans to relocate Palestinians in a statement after the comments from the ministers.

‘The United States rejects recent statements from Israeli Ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir advocating for the resettlement of Palestinians outside of Gaza. This rhetoric is inflammatory and irresponsible,’ the department wrote last week.

The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Herzog’s interview.

Netanyahu has vowed that the war in Gaza will last ‘many more months,’ and he has indicated that Israel will play a major security role in the region for a significant time after the conflict. He has not, however, indicated that he would attempt to relocate Palestinians.

Israel and Hamas are in negotiations for a new hostage exchange. The U.S., Qatar and Egypt are also involved in the talks.

Qatar has said that negotiations hit a wall last week after top Hamas commander Saleh al-Arouri was killed in an explosion in Beirut, Lebanon, last week. While Israel has denied responsibility for the attack, Hamas negotiators have become more withdrawn.

House and Senate negotiators reached an agreement on a government funding top line Sunday, taking a critical step toward avoiding a shutdown later this month. 

The bipartisan deal will set the federal government’s discretionary spending at a maximum level of $1.59 trillion, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., wrote in a letter to colleagues. It would include $886 billion for defense and $704 billion for nondefense spending, Johnson said.

The $1.59 trillion figure was part of an agreement mandated by the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) last year, a compromise reached during debt limit talks between President Biden and then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.

Democratic leaders said the final top line would also include an additional $69 billion in nondefense discretionary spending that was part of a McCarthy and Biden side deal at the time. That would bring the total to roughly $1.66 trillion.

Johnson said the new agreement would see some additional cuts to discretionary spending to offset the deal.

‘As has been widely reported, a list of extra-statutory adjustments was agreed upon by negotiators last summer. The agreement today achieves key modifications to the June framework that will secure more than $16 billion in additional spending cuts to offset the discretionary spending levels,’ Johnson’s letter said.

‘As you know, the Senate marked up their appropriations bills $14 billion above the FRA levels and the adjustments. The agreement reached today thus allows for none of that funding, and combined with the additional savings described above, results in an overall $30 billion total reduction from the Senate’s spending plans.’

A GOP aide stressed that the top line agreement would ultimately be a cut to the McCarthy-Biden agreement struck last spring.

‘This deal has the same levels of spending as the FRA deal except with billions more in cuts. Republicans put the screws to Democrats one more time,’ the aide told Fox News Digital. 

Johnson conceded in his letter that ‘these final spending levels will not satisfy everyone, and they do not cut as much spending as many of us would like’ but added, ‘his deal does provide us a path to: 1) move the process forward; 2) reprioritize funding within the topline towards conservative objectives, instead of last year’s Schumer-Pelosi omnibus; and 3) fight for the important policy riders included in our House FY24 bills.’

Democrats also took a victory lap when announcing the deal. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., released a statement on Sunday touting that the agreement ‘clears thew way for Congress to act over the next few weeks in order to to maintain important funding priorities.’

But there is still a showdown looming on the horizon – Johnson made clear that he still wants conservative policy riders included in the final spending agreement. 

Schumer and Jeffries took a shot at Johnson’s effort in their statement, ‘we have made clear to Speaker Mike Johnson that Democrats will not support including poison pill policy changes in any of the twelve appropriations bills put before the Congress.’

President Biden took a similarly hostile posture toward House Republicans even while holding the deal up as a win.

‘It reflects the funding levels that I negotiated with both parties and signed into law last spring. It rejects deep cuts to programs hardworking families count on, and provides a path to passing full-year funding bills that deliver for the American people and are free of any extreme policies,’ he said of the deal.

‘Now, congressional Republicans must do their job, stop threatening to shut down the government, and fulfill their basic responsibility to fund critical domestic and national security priorities, including my supplemental request. It’s time for them to act.’

Current government funding levels expire partially on Jan. 19, with remaining agencies and offices funded through Feb. 2.

Meanwhile, a growing contingent of GOP hardliners is calling on House Republican leaders to block government funding progress altogether until Democrats make conservative policy concessions to deal with the border crisis.