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.

Vice President Harris’ debt-ridden presidential campaign spent $2.6 million on private flights in the last few weeks of the election season, documents show.

The release of the findings comes as the debt-saddled campaign, which spent $1 billion on the trail, is being scrutinized for the financial decisions it made before losing the Nov. 5 election to President-elect Trump. The campaign is believed to be $20 million in debt.

The eyebrow-raising expenses were listed in a Federal Election Commission (FEC) filing obtained by Fox News Digital. According to the FEC filing, in the month of October alone, the Harris campaign spent $2,626,110 on private flights. 

The costs ranged from $3,500 to $940,000 per disbursement, with $2.2 million going to a company named Private Jet Services Group, while $430,000 went to Advanced Aviation Team, a charter flight broker.

In September, campaign staff spent $3.1 million on private flights, which brings the flight-related expense total to more than $10 million since July.

The expenditures are just a few of several financial decisions for which the campaign has been intensely scrutinized. For example, Harris’ team paid Oprah Winfrey’s production company $1 million after the TV star spoke at a rally Oct. 15. 

Harris staffers also gave $4 million to Village Marketing Agency, a company that connects clients with social media influencers. Additionally, FEC records show the campaign spent at least $15 million on ‘event production.’

The campaign’s use of private jets has been criticized in recent weeks for both financial and environmental reasons. Private jets emit more greenhouse gases per passenger than commercial flights do, and Harris previously said climate change was an ‘existential threat.’

‘There’s no question we have to be practical. But being practical also recognizes that climate change is an existential threat to us as human beings,’ Harris told CNN in 2019. ‘Being practical recognizes that greenhouse gas emissions are threatening our air and threatening the planet and that it is well within our capacity as human beings to change our behaviors in a way that we can reduce its effects.’

Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris campaign for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Andrew Mark Miller and Aubrie Spady contributed to this report.

President Biden awkwardly stood in the back corner of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) family photo on Saturday, as other prominent world leaders were spotted front and center.

Chinese Premier Xi Jinping was placed in the front-center of the photo, next to Peruvian president Dina Boluarte. Boluarte hosted the world leaders in Lima for this year’s APEC summit.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was seen in the front row on Xi’s right, along with Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

Pictures show Biden smiling and laughing with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra of Thailand while the family photo was being taken. This weekend, Biden had closed-door meetings with a variety of leaders, including Boluarte and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.

The photograph’s placement of Biden, who is leaving office in January, departs from where American leaders typically stand. Last year, Biden was center in the 2023 APEC family photo, which was hosted in San Francisco. Trudeau and Xi were on Biden’s right.

In 2017, former President Trump stood towards the front-center of that year’s APEC family photo, along with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

The conference came nearly two weeks after the 2024 presidential election, where Vice President Harris lost to Trump in a huge upset victory. Biden met with the Republican leader this week to discuss the transition process.

‘I look forward… to having a smooth transition. We’ll do everything we can to make sure you’re accommodated, what you need,’ the Democratic president said to Trump during the meeting.

‘I appreciate very much the transition that’s so smooth,’ Trump replied. ‘It will be as smooth as it can get, and I very much appreciate that.’

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

President-elect Trump announced that William Owen Scharf, one of his lawyers, will serve as assistant to the president and staff secretary in the upcoming administration.

‘I am pleased to announce that William Owen Scharf will serve as Assistant to the President and White House Staff Secretary,’ Trump’s statement read. ‘Will is a highly skilled attorney who will be a crucial part of my White House team.’

The Republican leader added that Scharf, a former federal prosecutor, ‘has played a key role in defeating the Election Interference and Lawfare waged against me, including by winning the Historic Immunity Decision in the Supreme Court.’

‘Will is going to make us proud as we Make America Great Again,’ Trump added.

Scharf, who received an undergraduate degree from Princeton University and a law degree from Harvard University, has clerked for two federal appeals court judges. 

The former prosecutor was also employed by CRC Advisors, a conservative public relations firm, and has also worked for Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens. Scharf also worked as an assistant U.S. Attorney in St. Louis. 

The lawyer recently ran for Missouri attorney general, but lost in the Republican primary to incumbent Andrew Bailey. Bailey won against Democrat Elad Gross earlier in November. 

Trump posted about Scharf’s appointment shortly before he announced his pick for secretary of energy, Chris Wright, on Saturday night.

Wright, the CEO of Liberty Energy, ‘was one of the pioneers who helped launch the American Shale Revolution that fueled American Energy Independence, and transformed the Global Energy Markets and Geopolitics,’ Trump wrote.

Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman contributed to this report.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., is facing backlash online for claiming that Tulsi Gabbard, President-elect Trump’s pick for Director of National Intelligence (DNI), is ‘likely a Russian asset.’

Wasserman Schultz made the claims, without providing any evidence, on MSNBC Friday, sparking furious responses with commentators honing in on the Florida lawmaker’s own record.

‘She is considered to be essentially by most assessments, a Russian asset and would be the most dangerous,’ Wasserman Schultz said, before being cut off and asked, ‘Is that what you consider her?’

‘Yes. There’s no question. I consider her someone who is likely a Russian asset who would be as the DNI, responsible for managing our entire intelligence community, hold all of our most significant intelligence information and secrets, and essentially would be a direct line to our enemies,’ Wasserman Schultz said. 

The comments drew sharp criticism.

‘Tulsi Gabbard resigned as DNC Vice Chair in 2016 because Debbie Wasserman Schultz was rigging the election to ensure Hillary won — as Liz Warren, Donna Brazile and WL all showed,’ journalist Glenn Greenwald wrote.

‘Imagine fighting for your country and then having pro-war cretins like this impugn your loyalties.’

Commentator @TexasLindsay_ invoked the debunked Russian dossier scandal, which was used by Democrats to accuse President-elect Trump of being a Russian asset. 

‘Debbie Wasserman Schulz was DNC Chair when Hillary Clinton ran for president—during the time the DNC got caught spying on Trump’s campaign paying to fabricate the fake Russian Dossier to discredit Trump.’

‘The fact that she’s now accusing Tulsi Gabbard of being a Russian asset is so outrageous, I can’t help but laugh at how stupid she thinks we all are.’

Ian Miles Cheong invoked a scandal involving Wasserman Schultz’s former IT aide Imran Awan who was indicted for federal bank fraud and conspiracy and was arrested trying to leave the U.S. Wasserman Schultz was criticized over mishandling sensitive information by defending him. Awan eventually made a plea deal with the Justice Department.

‘This is pure defamation and it should not go unanswered,’ Cheong wrote.

Commentator Bo Snerdley also chimed in and said he truly hopes Gabbard sues Wasserman Schultz ‘for slander and defamation of character.’

During the Friday interview, Wasserman Schultz attacked Gabbard for secretly meeting with Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, in 2017 who was accused of using chemical weapons on his own citizens during the country’s civil war. Gabbard refused to call him a war criminal during her 2020 presidential campaign and said she was skeptical that his government perpetrated a chemical weapons attack earlier that year that killed dozens of Syrians.

‘Tulsi Gabbard is someone who has met with war criminals, violated the Department of State’s guidance and secretly clandestinely went to Syria and met with Assad who gassed and attacked his own people with chemical weapons,’ Wasserman Schultz said.

Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii who bucked her party and switched to the Republican Party, once called her former party as a bunch of warmongers.’

It’s not the first time Democrats have accused Gabbard of being a Russian asset.

In a 2019 interview, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton labeled her ‘favorite of the Russians’ while citing apparent Russian media support for her. 

Gabbard served in the U.S. House of Representatives from early 2013 through early 2021 as a Democrat. She mounted a presidential bid in 2019 but ultimately dropped out in 2020 and backed Joe Biden.

The Republican is also a veteran who served in Iraq, as well as an Army reservist. She was promoted to lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves three years ago.

The former lawmaker supported Trump during the 2024 election and announced that she was joining the Republican Party.

‘I’ve been a soldier for over 21 years, and currently serve as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army Reserve,’ she noted in a post on Veterans Day this week. 

In a statement on Wednesday, Trump said that Gabbard ‘has fought for our Country and the Freedoms of all Americans.’ 

‘As a former Candidate for the Democrat Presidential Nomination, she has broad support in both Parties – She is now a proud Republican!’ Trump said, per a statement via his transition team.

‘I know Tulsi will bring the fearless spirit that has defined her illustrious career to our Intelligence Community, championing our Constitutional Rights, and securing Peace through Strength. Tulsi will make us all proud!’

The director of national intelligence leads the U.S. intelligence community, which includes overseeing the National Intelligence Program and advising the president on security matters. The current national intelligence director is Avril Haines.

Once confirmed to the position, Gabbard will advise Trump, the National Security Council and the Homeland Security Council on national security matters.

Fox News’ Andrea Margolis contributed to this report. 

President-elect Trump is rounding out his administration with cabinet nominations, but their confirmation ultimately relies on support from linchpins in the Senate who could be skeptical of his appointees.

While the incoming president has the power to appoint members to his Cabinet, it is ultimately up to Congress to have the final say in whether they are confirmed to the positions through a confirmation process. 

While the GOP will hold the majority in the next Congress, however, Senate confirmation could hang on a few key Republicans who have expressed mixed feelings about Trump’s cabinet selections.

Sen. Mitch McConnell

Longtime Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has had a rocky relationship with Trump over the years, most recently releasing a new book that revealed his not-so-flattering thoughts about the president-elect.

According to the book, the Senate minority leader has reportedly slammed Trump as ‘stupid,’ ‘erratic,’ a ‘despicable human being’ and a ‘narcissist.’ 

‘I can’t think of anybody I’d rather be criticized by than this sleazeball,’ he said in 2022, as Trump continued to attack his wife, former Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao, calling her ‘Coco Chow.’  

After the book’s release, McConnell told Fox News Digital that ‘we are all on the same team now.’ 

Sen. Lisa Murkowski

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said that she is not certain former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., Trump’s controversial attorney general nominee, will make it through the confirmation process.

‘I don’t think it’s a serious nomination for the attorney general,’ the Alaska Republican said. ‘We need to have a serious attorney general. And I’m looking forward to the opportunity to consider somebody that is serious. This one was not on my bingo card.’

Murkowski also expressed surprise to hear of former Fox News host Pete Hegseth’s nomination to secretary of defense.

‘Wow,’ Murkowski said. ‘I’m just surprised, because the names that I’ve heard for secretary of defense have not included him.’

Sen. Susan Collins

Susan Collins, the Republican senator from Maine, said she was ‘shocked that he [Gaetz] has been nominated.’

‘He’s under investigation by the House Committee on Ethics. Obviously, the president has the right to nominate whomever he wishes, but this is why the background checks that are done by the FBI and the advice and consent process in the Senate, and public hearings are also important,’ she said.

Gaetz was under a yearslong ethics investigation in the House looking into reports of alleged sexual involvement with a minor, illicit drug use and accepting improper gifts.

Sen. Thom Tillis

After Gaetz was nominated, Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said that despite a history of sparring with the attorney general nominee on social media, he would go through the confirmation process the same as any other pick.

However, Tillis said that the president should select nominees who can pass the chamber’s vetting process.

‘The president deserves to put forth a nominee. The president has an obligation to make sure that that nominee is gonna pass vetting and have the votes on the floor,’ the North Carolina Republican told reporters after Gaetz was nominated.

Tillis, however, suggested that the public should not be shocked if the former Florida congressman is not confirmed.

‘I will consider Matt Gaetz like I will anyone else, but if they don’t do the homework, don’t be surprised if they fail. Maybe they’ve already done that work,’ he added. ‘Nothing surprises me in politics, nothing. And I’m okay with this. But at the end of the day we have a process, and we’ll just have to run through it.’

Tillis added that he cares about ‘a defensible résumé, and a really clean vetting. Produce that he’s got a chance, don’t, and he doesn’t.’

Sen. Todd Young

Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., who did not publicly support Trump for the Republican presidential nomination this year, could be another deciding vote on cabinet confirmations.

The GOP senator previously told reporters he would not be supporting Trump’s 2024 presidential run partly because the former president’s ‘judgment is wrong’ on the Russia-Ukraine war.

Asked about Gaetz’s nomination, he did not respond and instead began praising Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., as Trump’s Secretary of State pick.

Sen.-elect John Curtis

Utah Republican John Curtis, recently elected to fill the being left by retiring Sen. Mitt Romney, said that he believes the Senate should have the final say in whether a Trump nominee is confirmed or not.

‘Senator-elect Curtis believes that every president is afforded a degree of deference to select his team and make nominations,’ Corey Norman, Curtis’ chief of staff, told KSL TV in a statement. ‘He also firmly believes in and is committed to the Senate’s critical role to confirm or reject nominations.’

Other senators have voiced uncertainty about Gaetz’s chances of being confirmed.

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, said that Gaetz has got an ‘uphill climb’ ahead of him, while Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., said, according to The New York Times, that ‘I think all but Gaetz are very doable — maybe not lovable, but doable.’

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said he is looking forward to working with the Trump Administration and hopes that President-elect Donald Trump sticks to his promise surrounding the cap on interest rates.

‘I look forward to working with the Trump Administration on fulfilling his promise to cap credit card interest rates at 10%,’ Sanders wrote in a post on X on Friday.

‘We cannot continue to allow big banks to make record profits by ripping off Americans by charging them 25 to 30% interest rates. That is usury,’ he wrote.

Several X users praised Sanders and thanked him for backing Trump’s efforts.

‘Thank you for trying to focus on the potential good coming from the next administration instead of fear mongering,’ one person commented.

‘I did not have Bernie agreeing with Trump on anything on my Election BINGO Card,’ another person commented.

‘This is a moment in the history of our country that nobody should never forget. Wow! Trump and Bernie working together for the people of America! Maybe unifying this country is not impossible. Thank you Bernie!’ another user commented. 

The left-wing lawmaker, who is listed as a member of the Senate Democratic caucus, ripped the Democratic Party in the wake of Trump’s 2024 presidential election victory and accused the party of abandoning the working class.

‘It should come as no great surprise that a Democratic Party which has abandoned working class people would find that the working class has abandoned them. First, it was the White working class, and now it is Latino and Black workers as well,’ Sanders said in a previous statement.

‘While the Democratic leadership defends the status quo, the American people are angry and want change. And they’re right,’ he continued.

Sanders has characterized Harris’ campaign as ‘disastrous.’

‘Will the big money interests and well-paid consultants who control the Democratic Party learn any real lessons from this disastrous campaign?’ he asked. 

‘Will they understand the pain and political alienation that tens of millions of Americans are experiencing?’ he added. ‘Do they have any ideas as to how we can take on the increasingly powerful oligarchy which has so much economic and political power? Probably not.’

While Republicans secured the Senate majority following the 2024 election, the 83-year-old Sanders, who has served in the chamber since 2007, just won another six-year-term.

‘Unbelievably, real, inflation-accounted-for weekly wages for the average American worker are actually lower now than they were 50 years ago,’ Sanders previously said. ‘Today, despite an explosion of technology and worker productivity, many young people will have a worse standard of living than their parents.’

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., joined a slew of Democrats taking offense to Sanders’ comments. 

‘With all due respect, and I have a great deal of respect for [Sanders], for what he stands for, but I don’t respect him saying that the Democratic Party has abandoned the working class families. That’s where we are,’ Pelosi told The New York Times’ ‘The Interview’ podcast on Saturday.

Pelosi’s remarks came days after Sanders posted on X that Democrats’ loss should ‘come as no great surprise’ after working class voters – first the White working class and then the Latino and Black working classes — looked elsewhere for change.

Fox News Digital’s Alex Nitzberg and Taylor Penley contributed to this report. 

Stepheny Price is a writer for Fox News Digital.