Former Vice President Mike Pence on Friday made his opposition to Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s nomination to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services unequivocal. 

‘The Trump-Pence administration was unapologetically pro-life for our four years in office. There are hundreds of decisions made at HHS every day that either lead our nation toward a respect for life or away from it, and HHS under our administration always stood for life,’ Pence said in a lengthy statement on the website for his Advancing American Freedom nonprofit Friday. 

‘I believe the nomination of RFK Jr. to serve as Secretary of HHS is an abrupt departure from the pro-life record of our administration and should be deeply concerning to millions of Pro-Life Americans who have supported the Republican Party and our nominees for decades.’

Pence claimed Kennedy has ‘defended abortion on demand during all nine months of pregnancy’ for the majority of his career and supports overturning the Dobbs decision and codifying Roe v. Wade. 

‘If confirmed, RFK, Jr. would be the most pro-abortion Republican appointed secretary of HHS in modern history,’ Pence wrote. 

President-elect Trump on Thursday announced he was nominating Kennedy to head the agency as he had said he would during the campaign. 

‘I am thrilled to announce Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as The United States Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). For too long, Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex and drug companies who have engaged in deception, misinformation, and disinformation when it comes to Public Health,’ Trump said in his announcement. 

Kennedy was frequently seen with Trump in the last couple of months of the campaign after he dropped his independent bid for the White House and endorsed the Republican nominee. 

Pence, who served as Trump’s vice president during Trump’s first term, didn’t run with him again in 2024 and declined to endorse Trump. 

Kennedy has flip-flopped on abortion. In May, he said a woman should be able to have an abortion when she’s full term, which he later walked back, saying there should be restrictions at some point in the pregnancy. And last year he said he supported a 15-week ban on abortion before his campaign said he misspoke. 

On his campaign website, he said he would support legislation to overturn the Dobbs decision, according to The Hill. 

Last month, Trump said he would veto any attempt at a national abortion ban, saying it’s an issue for the states. 

Liberals are also concerned about Kennedy’s nomination due to his controversial stances on vaccines, fluoride in water and other issues. 

Fox News Digital has reached out to Kennedy for comment. 

President-elect Donald Trump announced his pick of campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt to serve as press secretary for his upcoming administration. 

‘Karoline Leavitt did a phenomenal job as the National Press Secretary on my Historic Campaign, and I am pleased to announce she will serve as White House Press Secretary,’ Trump said in a statement Friday evening. 

‘Karoline is smart, tough, and has proven to be a highly effective communicator. I have the utmost confidence she will excel at the podium, and help deliver our message to the American People as we, Make America Great Again.’

Leavitt, 27, will be the youngest White House press secretary in U.S. history, unseating Nixon administration press secretary Ron Ziegler, who was 29 when he served in the role from 1969-1974.

Leavitt served as the campaign’s national press secretary, rallying support for Trump while also working as his fierce defender amid political attacks from the Harris campaign and Democrats. 

‘They forced him to take a mug shot. They tried to remove his name off of the ballot. They forced him to sit in a dirty courthouse for six weeks. Two people tried to kill him, for goodness sake,’ Leavitt said last week on ‘Fox & Friends’ following the election. ‘And the American people see, in Donald Trump, is clear a leader who even in the darkest of times is going to lift his fist in the air and say, ‘fight, fight, fight’ for this country.’ 

‘Democracy appeared to be the number one issue for voters. It’s clear that the American people believe President Trump is the best candidate to preserve our democracy. And it shows the Democrats’ message in these final weeks of the campaign that he’s this alleged threat to democracy just didn’t work in the eyes of the American people,’ she added. 

Leavitt previously served in Trump’s first administration as assistant press secretary under Kayleigh McEnany’s tenure. In 2022, the New Hampshire native launched a congressional campaign to represent the state’s 1st Congressional District, winning the primary but not the general election. 

Speculation had mounted that Trump would likely name Leavitt for the role, while other names were also floated, such as Trump’s legal spokeswoman and adviser Alina Habba, President George W. Bush aide and CNN contributor Scott Jennings, or longtime Trump adviser and ally Jason Miller, or campaign spokesman and adviser Steven Cheung. 

Trump named Cheung communications director earlier Friday. Other names floated as potential contenders included former ESPN host Sage Steele, RNC spokeswoman Elizabeth Pipko and former Trump administration official Monica Crowley.

In 2016, Trump announced Sean Spicer as his first press secretary, who served in the position from Jan. 20, 2017, to July of that year. Trump’s first administration also saw Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who currently serves as governor of Arkansas, Stephanie Grisham and McEnany. 

Trump’s second administration is already coming together at a much faster pace than during his 2016 transition phase, naming more than 20 picks just over a week after Election Day, including high-profile choices such as Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to oversee the Department of Health and Human Services; Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., to lead the State Department; and Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., as attorney general.

‘The American people re-elected President Trump by a resounding margin, giving him a mandate to implement the promises he made on the campaign trail — and his Cabinet picks reflect his priority to put America First. President Trump will continue to appoint highly qualified men and women who have the talent, experience and necessary skill sets to Make America Great Again,’ Leavitt told Fox News Digital when asked about Trump’s speedy roll-out of Cabinet picks earlier this week. 

A left-wing dark money network, known for its secretive funding operation, raised more than $1.3 billion in anonymous donations to fund progressive projects in 2023, according to tax filings reviewed by Fox News Digital.

Arabella Advisors, a billion-dollar, Washington, D.C.-based consulting network, consists of six nonprofits: New Venture Fund, Sixteen Thirty Fund, Windward Fund, Hopewell Fund, North Fund and Telescope Fund. In total, the groups acquired about $1.35 billion in 2023 alone and the six funds collectively sent nearly $1.5 billion that same year in grants to other organizations, tax filings show.

Each fund acts as a fiscal sponsor to other left-wing nonprofits by providing their tax status to the nonprofits housed beneath them. This setup allows the fiscally sponsored groups to avoid filing tax forms to the IRS. The six funds also move massive sums to progressive groups outside their network.

The latest expenses include hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for internally managed initiatives, meaning the network spent well over $1 billion to support various liberal causes on top of operational costs such as salaries.

New Venture Fund, the largest nonprofit in the network, raised $669 million while the Windward Fund, a ‘climate resilience’ group, received $212 million in secret donations. Combined, the groups spent about $1.1 billion in 2023.

The Sixteen Thirty Fund, a group ‘committed to tackling society’s biggest social challenges’ such as climate change and gun reform, brought in $181 million, spending about $141 million.

The North Fund, which received $59 million last year, funds projects related to LGBTQ+-related initiatives, the environment and ‘gender equity.’ The group reported spending about $39 million last year.

The Hopewell Fund brought in about $157 million, while the Telescope Fund raised over $69 million in donations last year. The two groups together spent about $193 million.

Combined, the nonprofits also sent back about $48 million to their firm, Arabella Advisors.

The network sent about $17 million to Democratic attorney Marc Elias’ firm, Elias Law Group, from both the Hopewell Fund and the North Fund, 

The Windward Fund sent $2.2 million to the China-tied Rocky Mountain Institute, a group with ties to the Biden White House that is working to ban gas stoves.

‘Year after year the undisputed kings of dark money — the Arabella Advisors network — rake in over a billion dollars to fund their radical leftwing policy pushes across the country,’ Americans for Public Trust Executive Director Caitlin Sutherland told Fox News Digital in a statement. ‘For people who claim to want to ban dark money, liberals sure have no problem when it funds their own team.’

In 2022, Arabella raised a staggering $1.3 billion in anonymous donations and poured more than $900 million into a wide range of progressive causes last year, a previous Fox News Digital review found.

Arabella Advisors told Fox News Digital that the firm is a ‘consulting business that supports philanthropy’ and that they ‘did not spend nearly $1.5 billion in 2023.’ 

‘The 2023 tax filings you are referring to do not belong to Arabella Advisors,’ Arabella Advisors continued. ‘They are tax filings for independent nonprofit organizations.’

Fox News’ Joe Schoffstall contributed to this report.

Ranked choice voting suffered a blow as several states, including Nevada, Oregon, Colorado and Idaho rejected measures last week. 

In Colorado, Proposition 131 would have created an open primary system for candidates of any party and the top four vote-getters would move on to the general election, after voters ranked their choices from first to last. 

‘The ranked choice voting movement has pushed really hard to convince everyone it’s a great idea,’ data scientist Seth Werfel told Colorado Public Radio. ‘It has some merits but it’s not a slam dunk, and I think voters are skeptical of anything that they can’t immediately understand.’

In Idaho, Proposition 1 would also have ended the party primary system. 

It was rejected by nearly 70% of the voters. 

‘You need a scandal, you need corruption, you need something that’s happening statewide to make the case to pass something complicated like this,’ CalTech professor Michael Alvarez told Boise State Public Radio. ‘I’m not super deeply immersed in the politics of these various states, but I don’t see that common ‘why’ there.’

Oregon’s ranked choice voting measure, Proposition 117, was rejected by 58% of the voters. 

‘Voters this year were reluctant to make dramatic changes to the way they vote,’ Chandler James, who teaches political science at the University of Oregon, told Oregon Public Radio. ‘But I don’t think that it spells the end for ranked choice voting in the future.’

A similar measure in Nevada was rejected by 53% of voters. The same measure was passed by nearly 6% in 2022, but Nevada measures that require amendments to the state constitution don’t go into effect until they’re passed in two consecutive elections, according to the Nevada Independent. 

Ranked choice voting is already used statewide in Alaska and Maine and places like New York City, but in Alaska a measure to repeal it looks like it could pass narrowly. Hawaii uses ranked choice voting for some special elections. 

And in Missouri, voters approved a constitutional amendment banning ranked choice voting. 

‘We believe in the one person, one vote system of elections that our country was founded upon,’ Missouri state Sen. Ben Brown, who sponsored the measure, previously said in an interview, according to NPR. 

Other states that have bans on ranked choice voting include Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Montana, South Dakota, Tennessee and Florida. 

Conservatives are pushing back after Democrats have criticized President-elect Trump’s Cabinet appointments for not being ‘qualified’ by pointing to several examples of members of the Biden-Harris administration and campaign having questionable qualifications for their roles.

In recent days, Democrats in Congress and in the media have blasted Trump Cabinet nominees over their qualifications, including combat veteran Pete Hegseth as secretary of defense; South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem as secretary of homeland security; Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., as attorney general; and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. as head of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), among others. 

‘Three recent Trump nominees – Gaetz, Hegseth, and Gabbard – are far less qualified than Senate confirmation rejects like Bork, Tower, and Mier,’ Harvard Professor Lawrence Summers, who served in the Clinton and Obama administrations, posted on X. ‘I hope that the Senate will do its duty.’

‘Pete Hegseth is not remotely qualified to be Secretary of Defense,’ Dem. Rep. Jason Crow posted on X.

‘[Pete Hegseth] is not qualified to be the Secretary of Defense. I lead the Senate military personnel panel. All three of my brothers served in uniform,’ Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said, omitting his decades-long military career. ‘I respect every one of our servicemembers. Donald Trump’s pick will make us less safe and must be rejected.’

Democrats have also slammed Trump for nominating Kennedy as his HHS secretary despite a resurfaced Politico report revealing that Kennedy was being considered by Obama for Environmental Protection Agency during his 2008 presidential transition.

Since taking office in 2021, Biden has faced criticism from Republicans over several members of his administration who were believed to be lacking key attributes needed to perform the duties they were assigned in addition to scandals. 

‘The Democrats are melting down over Trump‘s cabinet picks so far, but they had no problem with ‘Mayor Pete’ being appointed Secretary of Transportation with no prior qualifications,’ Link Lauren, conservative influencer and political commentator, who served as senior adviser to the Kennedy campaign, told Fox News Digital. 

‘Trump won the popular vote, the electoral college, the House and the Senate. That is a mandate from the American people that they want systemic change. I understand some of Trump‘s appointees have garnered mixed reactions — even from Republicans. But let’s give Trump’s appointees a chance, then verify in time that they are doing a great job.’

Buttigieg was appointed Biden’s transportation secretary after serving as the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, for eight years, with some questioning at the time whether he had enough related experience for the job. Since taking office, Republicans have amplified those concerns after a series of perceived missteps from Buttigieg, including the fallout from the supply chain crises and the devastating train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.

‘Take Secretary Buttigieg — his only qualifications for the job was a failed presidential campaign and time spent as a university-town mayor,’ Bradley Devlin, Politics Editor at The Daily Signal, told Fox News Digital. ‘From East Palestine to electric chargers, it hasn’t gone well for ‘Mayor Pete,’ but Buttigieg has retained his job because he’s remained loyal to the Biden administration’s attempted radical energy and transportation policies.’

Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, who worked as a lawyer before serving as counsel to Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., then an adviser to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, rose through the ranks into high-profile positions in the Obama administration but has been maligned as unqualified by Republicans over a series of national security blunders that occurred during his tenure, including the botched Afghanistan withdrawal and falsely claiming that the ‘Middle East region is quieter today than it has been in two decades’ days before Hamas killed at least 1,200 Israelis in a vicious attack.

Republicans criticized Sullivan’s role as Biden’s national security adviser, the youngest in history, due to his previous pushing of the ‘Russia collusion hoax’ as part of the Clinton campaign and his role in her State Department office amid the Benghazi cover-up.

Several other Biden officials have faced heated criticism over their qualifications in recent years, including former senior Department of Energy official Sam Brinton, who identifies as nonbinary and was arrested multiple times for baggage theft at airports.

Eric Lipka, who served as a deputy press secretary on the Biden-Harris campaign, sparked controversy earlier this year over his drag queen alter ego ‘Erotica the Drag Queen.’

Tyler Cherry, who worked in both the Biden White House and the Department of Interior, was hired and promoted despite several social media posts comparing police to ‘slave patrols,’ promoting conspiracies about Russia colluding with Trump and supporting the anti-Israel movement.

Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., when asked on Thursday about the controversy surrounding Trump’s appointment of Gaetz, held up a photo of assistant HHS Secretary Rachel Levine and Brinton asked, ‘Did you ask Democratic senators about this?’

Levine, the first openly transgender federal official to be confirmed by the Senate, has faced criticism from Republicans on various issues such as sex change surgeries for minors and was labeled by a New York Post op-ed as ‘America’s No.1 gender extremist.’

Dozens of scientists from universities and environmental groups pushed for the removal of the head of Biden’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, claiming she lacked the educational background required to run the agency despite securing Senate confirmation.

‘Liberals and progressives bemoaning these nominees’ alleged lack of qualifications are simply looking to protect the system they created — a government of, by and for the ‘experts’ — and that benefits them politically,’ Devlin told Fox News Digital.

‘This can be seen well beyond Biden’s cabinet picks, too. For example, the first 10 Biden-appointed appellate judges averaged merely 14 authored opinions each from the bench. Trump’s first 12 appellate judges, meanwhile, had averaged 34 over a similar time period — twice as many as Biden’s nominees.’

In 2023, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., blasted the qualifications of Biden’s judicial appointments saying in a press release, ‘The American people deserve the best and brightest. The Democrats are producing… something else.’

‘Xavier Becerra, HHS – not a doctor, he’s a lawyer, ex-attorney general of California Jared Bernstein, Chair of Council of Economic Advisors – not an economist, Bachelor’s degree in music, masters in sociology,’ FOX Business Evening Edit anchor Liz McDonald posted on X.

‘Jennifer Granholm, Energy Secy – no energy background, Michigan Governor Gina Raimondo, Commerce Secretary – No trade background, Gov of Rhode Island Deb Haaland, Interior Secy – New Mexico Congressman,’ she continued.

Conservative radio host and Fox News host Mark Levin pointed to Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz as evidence that Democrats have been hypocritical on the issue of cabinet qualifications. 

‘The Democrat Party nominated and supported Tim Walz for vice president,’ Levin posted on X.

‘I don’t want to hear from that party or its media that any of the Trump nominees are unqualified for their posts. They have demonstrated that they have no standards at all when it comes to selecting even a vice-presidential candidate. Every Trump nominee has a solid record. Perspective is very important.’

The White House did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., wants the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to be abolished, but described the prospect as ‘unlikely,’ he told Politico.

‘I’d like to eliminate it,’ Paul told the outlet. ‘The First Amendment is pretty important, that’s why we listed it as the First Amendment, and I would have liked to, at the very least, eliminate their ability to censor content online.’

‘While it’s unlikely we could get rid of CISA, we survived for what, 248 years without them,’ Paul said, according to Politico. ‘I think a lot of what they do is intrusive, and I’d like to end their intrusions into the First Amendment.’

‘CISA does not and has never censored speech or facilitated censorship,’ CISA senior adviser for public affairs Ron Eckstein asserted in a statement, according to the outlet. ‘Such allegations are riddled with factual inaccuracies. Every day, the men and women of CISA execute the agency’s mission of reducing risk to U.S. critical infrastructure in a way that protects Americans’ freedom of speech, civil rights, civil liberties and privacy,’ he asserted.

CISA was established in 2018 during President-elect Trump’s White House tenure. 

‘On November 16, 2018, the President signed into law the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Act of 2018,’ which established CISA, according to cisa.gov.

Republicans won the Senate majority during the 2024 election, and Paul, the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, is slated to become the chair during the next session of Congress. 

‘I chose to chair this Committee over another because I believe that, for the health of our republic, Congress must stand up once again for its constitutional role,’ the senator noted, according to a press release. 

‘This Committee’s mission of oversight and investigations is critical to Congress reasserting itself. Our first hearing will examine reinstating the successful Remain in Mexico policy from the first Trump Administration,’ he said.

Paul has served in the Senate since 2011.

Fox News Digital has reached out to CISA for comment.

In an unusual assurance to the Biden administration last month, Iran promised it would not assassinate Donald Trump in a secret exchange intended to ease tensions, U.S. officials told the Wall Street Journal, according to a Friday report. 

The assurances reportedly came in a written message to the administration on Oct. 14, after the White House in September said it would take any attempt on Trump’s life as a serious national security that would reportedly ‘be treated as an act of war.’

The Department of Justice last week outlined allegations levied at Tehran that detailed a plot by an Iranian agent to assassinate the former president from the campaign trail.

The allegations came after a Pakistani man involved in an Iranian murder-for-hire scheme was charged by federal prosecutors in August with plotting to kill Trump.

Fox News Digital could not immediately reach the White House for comment on how it will act following the department’s charges last week.

Iran has long said it would seek revenge for the 2020 killing of its top military commander and chief of Iran’s Quds Force, Qassem Soleimani, who was assassinated after then President Trump directed the U.S. military to kill him in Iraq.

Soleimani has since been dubbed a hero and a martyr. 

In response to the news that Iran has since pledged not to assassinate the now president-elect, the Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations told Fox News Digital, ‘We do not issue public statements on the details of official messages exchanged between the two countries.’

‘The Islamic Republic of Iran has long declared its commitment to pursuing Martyr Soleimani’s assassination through legal and judicial avenues, while adhering to the recognized principles of international law,’ the Mission added. 

The White House has not publicly commented on the report, and Fox News Digital could not immediately reach Trump’s transition team for the president-elect’s reaction to it. 

The Iranian Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, appeared to dismiss the Department of Justice’s allegations, calling the claims ‘third-rate comedy’ earlier this week.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., won unanimous approval from Republican lawmakers earlier this week to lead the House of Representatives next year, but some conservatives are warning that he still has an uphill climb before the House-wide election in January.

‘I think there’s still a lot of people that, as a favor to President Trump, didn’t request a vote, but it remains to be seen,’ Rep. Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., told Fox News Digital on Thursday.

‘I’m going to be ready to get ready to govern, but he has a lot of people not committed. But as a favor to President Trump, we didn’t object.’

Johnson won a unanimous voice vote to be the Republicans’ speaker nominee on Wednesday, hours after President-elect Donald Trump told GOP lawmakers he was fully backing the Louisiana Republican.

The speaker was the only candidate in the race after it was revealed that Republicans managed to keep the chamber for another two years.

Just a day earlier, GOP hardliners were threatening to force a vote via secret ballot to delay the process and keep Johnson from winning the speaker nomination unanimously in protest of his handling of government spending.

It never materialized, but two conservatives who spoke with Fox News Digital also said there could still be holdouts in January.

With just a razor-thin majority expected in the House, Johnson may have to work to avoid a messy, protracted battle for the gavel in January – not dissimilar to the one his predecessor Kevin McCarthy went through two years ago.

He will need to win a majority of the entire House chamber to clinch the top spot again.

‘I understand that might be the case,’ one GOP lawmaker said when asked if there were still skeptics of Johnson’s leadership.

‘I’m concerned about informal deals that might be done. I want things in writing… We did not get to the long end of the stick with McCarthy because of handshake deals, so I don’t want to see that anymore.’

A second GOP lawmaker said, ‘I don’t want to just see in December, ‘We’re going to throw another $100 billion in disaster relief spending. We’re going to throw $20 billion at a farm product…the speaker said he’s not going to do an omnibus, but I just want to see how this stuff plays out and see how we’re going to organize and how he wants to set up for January to succeed.’

‘We made some baby steps in the last few days, and we need to take some more,’ the second lawmaker said.

However, not all conservatives agree – a third lawmaker who spoke with Fox News Digital said, ‘I think it’s going to be fine.’

‘President Trump came here and endorsed him yesterday. Yesterday was a resounding yes…this isn’t like two years ago,’ they said on Thursday.

Meanwhile, others who are inclined to support Johnson in January have also sought commitments from him for the next Congress.

‘He promised to work with me on legislation to protect women. He made that promise in front of the Congress, and I’m going to hold him to it,’ Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., told Fox News Digital.

Additionally, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., told Fox News Digital that Johnson promised her the House would not pass more aid to Ukraine in its war against Russia.

Both cited Trump’s endorsement, however, in signaling that he has their support in January.

Johnson won the gavel via a unanimous vote by all House Republicans late last year after McCarthy’s ouster.

When reached for comment, his office pointed Fox News Digital to Johnson’s comments after his unanimous election on Wednesday. He said, ‘The theme that you’ll hear over and over from all of our members across the conference is that we are unified and energized and ready to go. We have to deliver for the American people. Beginning on day one in the new Congress, and we will be ready for that.’