Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., an ardent supporter of Israel, said that he looks forward to voting to confirm Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., to serve as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.

In a post on X, the senator accused the international body of persistently peddling ‘rank, pervasive antisemitism.’

A UN special committee report claimed that ‘the policies and practices of Israel during the reporting period are consistent with the characteristics of genocide.’

Fetterman spurned the report.

‘What’s actually consistent is UN’s rank, pervasive antisemitism. I reject this report in its entirety. I look forward to voting for @RepStefanik to continue a strong and unapologetic pro-Israel position,’ he tweeted.

President-elect Trump announced Stefanik as his pick for the role last week.

‘She will be an incredible Ambassador to the United Nations, delivering Peace through Strength and America First National Security policies!’ Trump said in a statement.

Fetterman also called Trump’s selection of Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., for Secretary of State ‘a strong choice,’ noting that he looks forward to voting to confirm Rubio – another strong supporter of Israel – to serve in the role.

Fetterman has been vocal about his staunch support for Israel in the wake of the heinous Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attack against the U.S. ally.

‘My vote and my voice for Israel will not waver,’ he declared in a post on X earlier this year.

Republicans are already making big plans for the 119th Congress, many of which center on using a legislative maneuver called reconciliation. 

GOP leaders have suggested they are planning a mammoth-sized bill to implement President-elect Trump’s tax policies, lower the federal deficit and enact conservative policies early next year.

Reconciliation is a way to fast-track legislation on issues like taxes, the debt limit and federal spending by bypassing the Senate’s 60-vote threshold for passage, instead lowering it to a simple 51-vote majority.

Republicans also accuse Democrats of pushing the boundaries of what’s acceptable in a reconciliation bill, and have signaled they may take a similar path in pushing for stricter border security measures while loosening restrictions on American energy production.

‘Though there are Senate rules limiting what we can fit in budget reconciliation, I want us to be bold and creative so we can include as many reforms in this package as possible,’ House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., wrote to House Republicans earlier this month.

‘Democrats expanded what is traditionally allowed in reconciliation, and we intend to do the same. Now is the time to go big to advance conservative policies that will make our country prosperous and secure again.’

Generally, reconciliation is only used once per year, and lawmakers usually reserve it for instances where they hold both houses of Congress. 

In recent history, most reconciliation bills have been started in the House of Representatives, where the Constitution dictates tax policy must originate. 

House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, whose committee will be at the forefront of crafting the reconciliation bill, told Fox News Digital he is already working with House GOP leaders and his Senate counterparts on the legislation.

‘We’re going to push the outer limits to include as much pro-growth strategy as we can. One of those would be regulatory reform,’ Arrington said. ‘Another one will be border security and immigration reform.’

The third goal Arrington raised was ‘to unravel the chokehold on domestic energy production.’

‘We have H.R. 2, and then we have H.R. 1, the two big legislative priorities for our conference – secure the border and unleash American energy,’ he said.

‘I think the things in there that can be included in reconciliation and pass the Byrd rule. We’re going to be aggressively advancing those policies.’

The ‘Byrd rule’ refers to the Senate parliamentarian weighing a reconciliation bill for what measures are relevant to budgetary and tax policy, and what must be removed.

Democrats wanted to use reconciliation in 2021 to pass progressive immigration policies that would have included granting citizenship to millions of people, including those brought to the U.S. illegally as children.

They also attempted to include a federal $15 minimum wage in a reconciliation bill – a charge led by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.

But the parliamentarian ruled against both of those proposals.

It remains to be seen what Republicans will be able to include in their bill next year.

‘We’ve got a lot of work to do, a lot of restoration to do on the fiscal side,’ Arrington said. ‘It’s part pro-growth strategies, and the other is part bending the curve on spending, and especially focused on mandatory spending. And I think there are a lot of straightforward ways to do it, common sense things that the American people from both sides of the political aisle will say are long overdue.’

The Pentagon is bracing for sweeping policy changes under the incoming Trump administration, and some high-level officers could find their careers on the chopping block. 

President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Pete Hegseth, a former Fox News host and veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, to lead the Defense Department – an iconoclast whose pick roiled the defense industrial base.

With Hegseth, the Trump administration is expected to undo diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) accommodations and training within the military. 

‘If you want to have a sex change or a social justice seminar, then you can do it somewhere else, but you’re not going to do it in the Army, Navy, Coast Guard, Air Force, Space Force or the United States Marines. Sorry,’ Trump said at an Aug. 21 rally in Asheboro, North Carolina. 

‘The military brass that led these absurd and insulting initiatives will likewise be removed, and they will no longer be in command. They’re going to be gone, gone so fast.’

‘Cleaning house’ of career DoD officials

Longtime generals and high-level officers at the Pentagon could find their jobs under threat – even those who don’t typically qualify as political appointees.

‘Well, first of all, you got to fire, you know, you got to fire the chairman of the Joint Chiefs,’ Hegseth said on the ‘Shawn Ryan Show’ podcast last week. 

‘Any general that was involved – general, admiral, whatever – that was involved in any of the DEI woke s**t, it’s got to go,’ he added. 

Hegseth also wrote in his recent book, ‘The War on Warriors’: ‘Our generals are not ready for this moment in history. Not even close. The next President of the United States needs to radically overhaul Pentagon senior leadership to make us ready to defend our nation and defeat our enemies. Lots of people need to be fired.’

‘At the Pentagon, you can fire generals. Unlike, say, the CIA or the Department of Justice, where it’s hard to fire senior officials, because they’re protected,’ said former Rep. Chris Stewart, who has been consulting the transition team on Department of Defense matters. 

The transition team is considering a draft executive order that establishes a ‘warrior board’ of retired senior military personnel who would have the power to review three- and four-star officers and recommend removal of any who are unfit for leadership, the Wall Street Journal first reported. 

Transgender ban

Trump may quickly score favor with social conservatives and defense hawks by rolling back an executive order President Joe Biden signed that lifted a ban on transgender people from serving in the military. 

Transgender people were allowed to begin openly serving in the military in 2016 under an executive order of the Obama administration. But in 2017, Trump announced he would reimpose that ban. 

‘Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail,’ Trump said in a social media post at the time. 

Trump’s ban ordered the discharge of anyone diagnosed with gender dysphoria, and prompted a flurry of lawsuits. 

Abortion travel 

The Trump Pentagon is also expected to roll back a Biden-era policy allowing troops to obtain leave and reimbursement if they need to leave the state where they are stationed to seek an abortion. 

The policy is rarely ever taken advantage of – the Department of Defense found that only 12 people used it over the course of six months from August to December 2023. 

Conservatives have pushed to block the policy since Biden adopted it after the overturning of Roe v. Wade. 

DEI provisions 

The Pentagon requested funding to the tune of $114 million for DEI initiatives in 2024. That money was to be used for ‘programs and initiatives aimed at furthering DEIA, and incorporating DEIA values, objectives, and considerations in how we do business and execute our missions.’ Expect a major undoing of diversity initiatives. 

‘DEI amplifies differences, creates grievances, and excludes anyone who won’t bow down to the cultural Marxist revolution ripping through the Pentagon. Forget DEI — the acronym should be DIE or IED. It will kill our military worse than any IED ever could,’ Hegseth wrote in Chapter 8.

‘The Left isn’t just interested in purging Trump supporters. Their ideology is based on marginalizing whatever’s normal, because they think ‘normal’ is always oppressive. By their logic, the military runs on the most normal and most oppressive thing of all: strong men. Just being a guy who hits the gym means you’re oppressing everyone around you,’ he wrote. 

‘A big reason for fewer training accidents is – less training. More time than ever is being spent on social justice PowerPoint moralizing – and meeting those metrics in today’s military is the most important standard to meet,’ he wrote. ‘Every unit knows that social justice, trans, gender, woke training is the top priority. Not doing this training, or not doing it properly, will get a commander or junior leader fired. Not doing real field training becomes secondary.’

Ben Carson broke his silence around rumors of him joining the second Trump administration as the U.S. surgeon general on Sunday, but noted that he plans to speak with President-elect Donald Trump soon.

Carson, who served as the secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) from 2017 to 2021 during the first Trump administration, dispelled the false reports in an X post on Sunday.

‘I am excited to speak with President Trump about how I will continue to advance the America First agenda, and I am meeting with him in the near future,’ the retired neurosurgeon wrote. 

‘However, contrary to reports, I will not be serving as the Surgeon General.’

Carson has been a vocal critic of the Biden administration and a staunch supporter of Trump. After the Republican leader won the Nov. 5 election in a landslide victory, Carson shared his congratulations. 

‘Congratulations to my good friend and the next President of the United States, @realdonaldtrump!!’ Carson’s post reads. ‘As I said earlier today, God is not done with our country. Let’s get to work.’

The U.S. surgeon general is not a Cabinet-level position but is still a high-ranking role that serves as the head of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. The position is within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

‘The U.S. Surgeon General is the Nation’s Doctor, providing Americans with the best scientific information available on how to improve their health and reduce the risk of illness and injury,’ the HHS’s website explains. ‘The Surgeon General oversees the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) Commissioned Corps, an elite group of over 6,000 uniformed officers who are public health professionals.’

Carson’s comments come as several positions in Trump’s incoming Cabinet are still up for grabs, including secretary of transportation, secretary of commerce and secretary of the treasury.

Trump also has yet to announce his picks for HUD secretary, secretary of agriculture and secretary of education.

Trump most recently announced on Saturday that Liberty Energy CEO Chris Wright will join his Cabinet as secretary of energy. He called Wright ‘a leading technologist and entrepreneur in energy.’ 

A new report revealed Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign paid more than double what was previously reported for the Oprah Winfrey town hall event.

FEC filings, first reported by the Washington Examiner, show the Harris campaign made two $500,000 payments to Winfrey’s Harpo Productions on Oct. 15, a month after Winfrey’s town hall with Harris and weeks before the pair appeared at a Harris Philadelphia rally. Now, two sources have told The New York Times the full price of the event with Winfrey was closer to $2.5 million.

Harris’ campaign spent $1.5 billion, or $100 million per week during her 15-week presidential run, according to the Times. Democrat donors say they are still being bombarded with requests, and the Democratic Party is reportedly $20 million in debt from the failed campaign. 

Some of the reported spending included nearly $9,000 in ice cream from high-end shops like Sweet Lucy’s Ice Cream and Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams.

Harris’ campaign reportedly used almost $15,000 on food delivery services such as Uber Eats and DoorDash from July through the end of the race in early November, the Times reported.

During a two-week period in October, Harris’ campaign reportedly spent $2.6 million on travel aboard private jets. 

The campaign also spent $900,000 to reserve ad space on Las Vegas’ Sphere in the final week of the election, although she still lost Nevada by three points.

The bulk of the extravagant spending reportedly went to celebrity appearances and performances and influencer partnerships meant to boost campaign events. 

Winfrey, a billionaire, insisted she was ‘paid nothing’ when confronted by TMZ.

A Harpo Productions spokesperson acknowledged to Variety that the company took money from the campaign but claimed it was for ‘production costs.’

‘Oprah Winfrey was at no point during the campaign paid a personal fee, nor did she receive a fee from Harpo,’ the spokesperson said.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris campaign for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.

Fox News Digital’s Jeffrey Clark contributed to this report. 

Stepheny Price is writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. Story tips and ideas can be sent to stepheny.price@fox.com

President-elect Trump announced on Sunday that he has picked Brendan Carr to serve as Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) starting in January.

Carr, who is currently the senior Republican member of the FCC, was first nominated to the commission by Trump in 2017. In a statement released on Sunday night, Trump commended Carr and noted that he had ‘been confirmed unanimously by the United States Senate three times.’

‘His current term runs through 2029 and, because of his great work, I will now be designating him as permanent Chairman,’ Trump wrote.

The Republican leader went on to call Carr ‘a warrior for Free Speech’ who has ‘fought against the regulatory Lawfare that has stifled Americans’ Freedoms, and held back our Economy.’

‘He will end the regulatory onslaught that has been crippling America’s Job Creators and Innovators, and ensure that the FCC delivers for rural America,’ Trump added.

‘Congratulations to Chairman Brendan Carr on a job well done,’ the president-elect’s statement concluded. ‘Lead us into a great future, Brendan!’

In an X post on Sunday, Carr thanked Trump and wrote that he is ‘humbled and honored to serve as Chairman of the FCC.’

Carr recently made national headlines after he ripped the ‘Saturday Night Live’ cast for platforming Kamala Harris as a guest without inviting Trump, which violates FCC rules.

‘NBC has structured this in a way that’s plainly designed to evade the FCC’s rules,’ the official said shortly after the episode aired. ‘We’re talking 50 hours before Election Day starts, without any notice to other candidates, as far as I can tell.’

Carr later told Fox News Digital that the Harris appearance ‘[made] clear that [‘SNL’] wanted to weigh-in in favor of one candidate before the election.’

‘That’s exactly why, for decades, we’ve had an equal time rule on the book, is to prevent that,’ the Republican explained. ‘Because remember, broadcasters are placed in a special position of trust. They’re not just like any other person with a soapbox on the corner. They have a license from the federal government that obligates them to operate in the public interest.’

Earlier in November, the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) urged Trump to appoint Carr as the next FCC chairman, calling him a ‘great partner to the men and women in law enforcement.’

‘Commissioner Carr has more than 20 years of private and public sector expertise in communications and technology policy as well as a deep institutional knowledge of the FCC,’ Patrick Yoes, national president of the FOP, wrote in a letter. ‘He would make an outstanding FCC Chairman who will ensure the United States continues to lead the world in telecommunications advancements and innovations.’

Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton and Eric Revell contributed to this report.

Today, we celebrate the strength of our democracy. In record numbers, Americans from every corner of this country cast their ballots, showing up and making their voices heard. This turnout reaffirms a commitment to our democratic ideals that we can all be proud of. Our heartfelt thanks go out to the poll workers who worked tirelessly to ensure this election was safe, fair, and accessible. They exemplify the spirit of service that sustains our democracy.

I also extend my congratulations to President Trump on his victory. He is our President, and I am committed to supporting him in moving this country forward. Vice President Kamala Harris deserves our appreciation as well, having delivered her concession speech this afternoon with dignity. The peaceful transfer of power remains the cornerstone of our democracy, and her commitment to that tradition deserves our respect and admiration.

As we reflect on this election, one lesson stands out clearly: The candidate who appeals to the sensible majority of Americans – the center – wins. Yes, the more extreme voices on both sides of the aisle turned out for their candidates. But neither side alone could carry this election. It is the sensible majority of our nation that made the difference.

It is also true that candidates who campaign to the moderate middle but govern to their base live to regret their decision. This was true of both President Trump in 2016 and President Biden in 2020. Each used their first term to cater to the extremes of their party. And in each case, the voters punished them in the next election.

In this 2024 election, Trump was again the candidate better able to connect with the concerns of the sensible majority – prioritizing the economy, securing our borders, and responding to the core needs of working Americans. I urge President Trump and my Republican colleagues in Congress to remember who put them in office.

Let me be clear: This victory was not a triumph for extremism and it is a rejection of the narrative that our country is so paralyzed by polarization as to be unable to find common ground. The truth is that a strong, sensible middle remains in America, seeking leaders who will deliver real, practical solutions to their everyday concerns. Year after year, this middle calls for change – not for the sake of change alone, but because they’ve been disappointed by too many empty promises from leaders who, once elected, ignore the center and lean into partisanship.

If any leader or party wants to build a durable majority in America, they must deliver for the sensible majority. They must prioritize policies with broad appeal, ones that answer the needs of hardworking families. This is what governing for the middle looks like, and it’s essential if we hope to restore trust in our institutions.

It is equally essential that we protect and preserve the checks and balances that sustain our democracy. In a time of heightened partisanship, how we make our laws matters just as much as what laws we pass. For example, the 60-vote threshold in the Senate – the filibuster – requires both parties to work together and keeps one side from imposing sweeping changes every time power shifts. Making America great requires consensus and common sense. It cannot, and should not, be a party-line vote.

Now that the election is behind us, I invite all Americans to join me in setting partisanship aside and focusing on the path toward renewed prosperity. The demonization of our fellow citizens must end. I hope we can find ways to come together, to create the necessary compromises that will restore prosperity, protect our security in a volatile world, and leave a better country for our children and grandchildren.

I wish President Trump success in this endeavor because, at the end of the day, when our president succeeds, our country succeeds. Healing and unity won’t be easy, but they are essential if we are to address the pressing issues facing American families today.

History has shown us time and again that Americans are tough and resilient. We have faced down the Civil War, endured the heartbreak of losing leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and U.S. President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, and emerged stronger from the COVID-19 pandemic. Each time, we overcame because our democracy—and our people—are rooted in shared values and strength.

This moment calls us to renew our commitment to one another and to the ideals that define us as a nation. We can, and we must, move forward together. With unity, purpose, and respect, there is no challenge we cannot meet.

The Pentagon failed its seventh consecutive audit on Friday as the agency was unable to fully account for its massive $824 billion budget, though officials were confident the Department of Defense ‘has turned a corner’ in understanding its budgetary challenges going forward.

The audits resulted in a disclaimer of opinion, which means auditors were provided with insufficient information to form an accurate opinion of the accounts.

Of the Department of Defense’s (DoD) 28 reporting entities that had standalone audits, 9 received an unmodified audit opinion, 1 received a qualified opinion, 15 received disclaimers, and 3 opinions remain pending, the Pentagon said.

But with the goal of achieving a clean audit by 2028, Michael McCord, Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) and Chief Financial Officer, said the agency ‘has turned a corner in its understanding of the depth and breadth of its challenges.’ 

‘Momentum is on our side, and throughout the Department there is strong commitment—and belief in our ability—to achieve an unmodified audit opinion,’ he said in a statement.

The objective of earning an unmodified audit opinion is mandated by the National Defense Authorization Act.

McCord told reporters at a briefing on Friday that he would not say that the agency ‘failed’ as it had ‘about half clean opinions.’

‘So if someone had a report card that is half good and half not good, I don’t know that you call the student or the report card a failure,’ he said.

Independent public accountants and the DoD Office of Inspector General closely examined the financial statements for the audit.

McCord emphasized in a statement that the path to a clean audit is clear.

‘Significant work remains and challenges lie ahead, but our annual audit continues to be a catalyst for Department-wide financial management reform, resulting in greater financial integrity, transparency, and better-supported warfighters,’ he said.