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Report: Controversial Cabinet Pick Has Secured Support For Confirmation

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David B. Gleason from Chicago, IL, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

He’s in…

A new report Sunday revealed Senate Majority Leaderย John Thuneย (R-SD) has privately promised President-electย Donald Trumpย thatย Pete Hegsethย has enough votes in the Senate to be confirmed to head the Department of Defense.

According to a report by CBS News, three sources have confirmed that Thune has assured Trump privately that his embattled defense secretary nominee will make it through the Senate confirmation process.

When asked to confirm the reporting, a spokesperson for Thune told CBS News, โ€œTwo things we donโ€™t discuss publicly: Whip counts and private conversations with the president.โ€

The confirmation briefing for the former Fox News star will occur later this month on Jan. 14.

On Sunday, Thune toldย Face The Nationย hostย Margaret Brennanย that all of Trumpโ€™s nominees will โ€œstill have to make their case in front of the committee.โ€

A week after defeating Vice Presidentย Kamala Harris, Trump nominated Hegseth to lead the Department of Defense. However, Hegseth faces allegations of sexual misconduct after an anonymous woman accused him of sexual assault in a Monterey hotel room back in 2017.

Hegseth has also faced accusations of alcohol abuse.

Did Fauci Lie To Congress? New Investigation May Reveal The Truth.

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National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony S. Fauci. Photo Credit: Fogarty International Center from Bethesda, MD, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

In the wake of revelations that the former Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci may have knowingly lied to Congress in sworn testimony, U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is asking the Justice Department to open a criminal investigation.

Paul has asked U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C., Matthew Graves to open an investigation into testimony Fauci made to the United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) on May 11, 2021, in which Fauci denied funding research at viral laboratory in China where the COVID-19 virus reportedly originated.

โ€œThe NIH has not ever and does not now fund gain-of-function research in the Wuhan Institute of Virology,โ€ Fauci said under oath in May.

But a month later a June 14, 2023,  Government Accountability Office report concluded the Wuhan Institute of Virology did receieve NIH funding.

There are concerns the COVID-19 virus โ€œmay have been genetically engineered because gain-of-function research was taking place in Wuhan before the pandemic,โ€ Paul reports.

Now Paul wants to determine if Fauciโ€™s statements were illegal.

โ€œI warned Dr. Fauci of the criminal implications of lying to Congress and offered him an opportunity to recant his previous statement,โ€ Paul wrote in a letter to Graves. โ€œDr. Fauciโ€™s testimony is inconsistent with facts that have since come to light.โ€

โ€œBefore Congress, Dr. Fauci denied funding gain-of-function research, to the press he claims to have a dispassionate view on the lab leak hypothesis, and in private he acknowledges gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology to his colleagues. His own colleagues have acknowledged Dr. Fauciโ€™s inconsistency. A congressional hearing, however, is not the place for a public servant to play political games โ€“ especially when the health and well-being of American citizens is on the line,โ€ Paul writes.

Under 18 U.S.C. ยง 1001 it is a federal crime to make โ€œany materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representationโ€ as part of โ€œany investigation or review, conducted pursuant to the authority of any committee, subcommittee, commission or office of the Congress, consistent with applicable rules of the House or Senate.โ€

The penalty for an offense includes criminal fines and imprisonment of up to five years.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of Great America News Desk. It was first published in American Liberty News.

READ NEXT: Ukrainian Special Forces Reportedly โ€˜Pinned Downโ€™ During Night Raid In Crimea By Security Guard In Underwear

Fox Host Predicts Next Top Dem to Be Axed โ€” Once They Oust Chuck Schumer

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Mitch McConnell, Kevin McCarthy, Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer attend medal ceremony via Wikimedia Commons

As Democrats face growing internal turmoil, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is under fire from members of his own party โ€” and some say the unrest may soon spread to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY).

During Thursdayโ€™s segment of Fox & Friends, host Lawrence Jones offered a pointed prediction about who might be the next Democrat to fall out of favor with the partyโ€™s increasingly fractured base.

โ€œQuick prediction: Jeffries is next,โ€ Jones told co-hosts Brian Kilmeade and Ainsley Earhardt. โ€œTheyโ€™re gonna get rid of him next. First, it was Schumer. Theyโ€™re not happy with Jeffries either. They donโ€™t like his alignment with AIPAC and have been very critical of how he operates.โ€

Jones added that many progressives in the Democratic Party โ€œdonโ€™t respectโ€ Jeffries and that his position had been shielded for years by former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).

โ€œNancy Pelosi kind of protected him,โ€ Jones said. โ€œBut now that sheโ€™s retiring, I believe heโ€™s going to be the next target.โ€


Democrats in Disarray

The Democratic Partyโ€™s internal divisions have been on full display amid the historic 43-day government shutdown, the longest in U.S. history. Schumer, struggling to hold his caucus together, lost seven Democrats and one Independent who sided with Republicans to support a short-term continuing resolution that ultimately reopened the government.

That rebellion has led several prominent progressives โ€” including Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) โ€” to openly question Schumerโ€™s leadership and even call for his ouster. Although no formal challenge has yet materialized, the discontent is unmistakable.


Pressure Mounts on Party Leadership

Many Democrats are torn between the partyโ€™s traditional pro-Israel establishment figures like Schumer and Jeffries, and the ascendant left-wing faction that has become increasingly critical of Israel and of AIPACโ€™s influence in Washington.

Jonesโ€™s comments reflect a broader sense that Democratic leadership is losing control of its own base โ€” particularly among younger, more progressive voters frustrated by what they see as political compromise and a lack of clear vision.


A Growing Divide

The potential downfall of two of the partyโ€™s most powerful figures โ€” Schumer in the Senate and Jeffries in the House โ€” would mark a stunning shift within Democratic ranks.

Rick Scott Challenger Calls It Quits

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Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

The Senate primary field is already shrinking…

On Wednesday, Phil Ehr announced his decision to drop out of the Senate primary and instead challenge incumbent Rep.ย Carlos Gimenezย (R-Fla.) for Floridaโ€™s 28th congressional district.

The move is a stark turnaround after Ehr initially entered the senate race to unseat Republican Senator Rick Scott.

Politico has more:

But Ehr, who once ran against GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz in northwest Florida, said his decision to compete for Gimenezโ€™s House seat was motivated by what he called the โ€œchaos in the nationโ€™s Capitolโ€ due to the Republican infighting over House speaker that has kept that chamber without a leader for more than two weeks.

โ€œWe have in the House of Representatives chaos that is damaging America, chaos that is preventing us from being able to respond overseas,โ€ Ehr told Playbook.

Ehrโ€™s decision to mount a congressional campaign in South Florida was, in part, because he believes Gimenez is vulnerable and for the GOP lawmakerโ€™s support of former President Donald Trump and other Republicans like Gaetz. Gimenez is currently one of the holdouts opposed to the speakership bid of Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio).

Ehr also added that heโ€™s been a Florida resident since 1984, and while in the military he did missions in the area, including rescuing Cuban exiles during the Mariel boatlift. โ€œThis place is very familiar to me,โ€ Ehr said.

Haley Defeats Trump In DC Republican Primary

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Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley has secured her first victory in the Washington, D.C. Republican presidential primary contest

Haley garnered 1,274 votes to formerย President Trumpโ€™sย 676 with all precincts reporting, according to Decision Desk HQ.

The win for the former United Nations ambassador breaks a streak of more than a half dozen victories for Trump to start out the GOP contests for the nomination.ย 

Despite trailing behind former President Trump throughout the race Haley has pledged to remain in the race at least until Super Tuesday when more than a dozen states will vote.

the win in the winner-take-all D.C. primary will give her all of its 19 delegates. Voting in the District took place across three days from Friday to Sunday.ย 

Candidates need at least 1,215 delegates to mathematically clinch the Republican nomination.ย 

Trump Sticks His Nose into House Speaker Battle

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Donald Trump via Gage Skidmore Flickr

Donald Trump is offering his two cents on the unprecedented battle for House Speaker.

In a series of Truth Social tweets, the former President urged Republican lawmakers to vote for Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) after he failed to secure the position through three rounds of voting.

“Some really good conversations took place last night, and itโ€™s now time for all of our GREAT Republican House Members to VOTE FOR KEVIN,” Trump posted on Truth Social.

“CLOSE THE DEAL, TAKE THE VICTORY, & WATCH CRAZY NANCY PELOSI FLY BACK HOME TO A VERY BROKEN CALIFORNIA,THE ONLY SPEAKER IN U.S. HISTORY TO HAVE LOST THE โ€˜HOUSEโ€™ TWICE! REPUBLICANS, DO NOT TURN A GREAT TRIUMPH INTO A GIANT & EMBARRASSING DEFEAT. ITโ€™S TIME TO CELEBRATE, YOU DESERVE IT,” the 2024 presidential candidate continued.

“Kevin McCarthy will do a good job, and maybe even a GREAT JOB – JUST WATCH!” Trump predicted.

On Tuesday, the 118th Congress held three rounds of voting for House Speaker, but the California Republican fell short of crossing the 218 vote threshold as 19 Republican hardliners opted to support Rep. Jim Jordan(R-Ohio).

However, despite Trump’s attempts to sway favor back towards McCarthy, lawmakers say even Trump’s endorsement isn’t enough.

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) who was among the 19 Republicans to oppose McCarthy, responded to Trump’s endorsement.

“Sad!” Gaetz said in a Wednesday statement. “This changes neither my view of McCarthy nor Trump nor my vote.”

Gaetz has been one of the most prominent figures to declare his opposition to McCarthy’s bid for Speaker and has worked to secure major concessions from the California Republican. However, negotiations have still fallen short and ultimately Rep. Gaetz nominated Rep. Jordan for Speaker during the first round of voting on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, the Florida firebrand also sent a letter to the Architect of the Capitol on Tuesday questioning why House Speaker candidate McCarthy was already inhabiting the Speakerโ€™s office when he had yet to officially win the position, according to The Hill.

โ€œI write to inform you that the Speaker of the House Office located in the U.S. Capitol Building is currently occupied by Rep. Kevin McCarthy,โ€ Gaetz said in the letter.

โ€œAs of this morning, the 117th Congress adjourned sine die, and a Speaker from the 118th Congress has not been elected,โ€ he continued. โ€œAfter three undeciding votes, no member can lay claim to this office.โ€

Amanda Head: New Ballot Metrics Indicate Blowout In Midterms

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With only three weeks left until Election Day Democrats are officially in panic mode. The latest polling data shows that Republicans are set up to win big this year.

Watch Amanda break down the latest data below.

Liberal Congresswoman Accuses Trump Of Stoking ‘Civil War’

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By Elvert Barnes from Silver Spring MD, USA - MaxineWaters1.CFPB.WDC.10February2025, CC BY-SA 2.0,

Radical Congresswoman Maxine Waters is igniting controversy once again…

While addressing the Congressional Black Caucus on Thursday, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) claimed that President Donald Trump as on the verge of starting a civil war.

โ€œIโ€™m worried that Trump is on the edge of creating a civil war,โ€ she claimed. โ€œHe alluded to it more than once. He alluded to the fact that if he did not get reelected, that there could be a civil war.โ€

She claimed that this idea placed a major responsibility on Democrats to โ€œlive and do, like Doctor Martin Luther King told us to do.โ€

โ€œHe taught us to organize and to protest, but he taught us nonviolence,โ€ she said. โ€œHe taught us nonviolence. That was the center. That was the core of his message. And we live with that all the time. No matter how upset we can get, no matter how angry we can get. We live with what weโ€™ve been taught.โ€

Waters claimed that Trump was putting people โ€œin a position where hungry people are going to be on the street, where nonprofits who were waiting for their checks are not going to get them, where seniors waiting for their Social Security check will not get it โ€“ where poor families with children will not get what they believe the government has agreed to do.โ€

โ€œAnd so when that happens, what does Trump expect? Oh, I believe he expects violence,โ€ she claimed. โ€œI believe he expects confrontation. I believe heโ€™s working toward a civil war.โ€

VP Vance Issues ‘Official’ Two Word Response To Racist Attacks On Wife

By Xuthoria - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0,

Vice President Vance has had enough…

Vice President JD Vance had two choice words for racist troll Nick Fuentes and others like MS NOW host Jen Psaki, who haveย made comments about the second lady: โ€œEat sโ€“t.โ€

โ€œLet me be clear. Anyone who attacks my wife, whether their name is Jen Psaki or Nick Fuentes, can eat sโ€“t,โ€ Vance told UnHerd in an interview published Sunday.

โ€œThatโ€™s my official policy as vice president of the United States.โ€

He then told writerย Sohrab Ahmariย that โ€œall forms of ethnic hatredโ€ including antisemitism have โ€œno place in the conservative movement.โ€

Vanceโ€™s response comes after Fuentes bashed him for being a โ€œrace traitorโ€ for marrying his wife;ย Usha Vanceย is an American citizen born in San Diego to two Hindu Indian immigrants. Fuentes has also used derogatory terms about Indians to describe The Second Lady.

Fuentes has made a number ofย racist and antisemitic commentsย over the years, and he told Piers Morgan earlier this month that he believedย Adolf Hitlerย was โ€œreally f*cking cool.โ€ย 

The vice presidentโ€™s comments were published a few hours after he told the crowd at Turning Point USAโ€™s AmericaFest that Presidentย Donald Trumpย had wiselyย โ€œrelegated DEI to the dustbin of history.โ€ย 

Vance said DEI is antithetical to American values and a meritocratic society โ€” which made it an easy target for the second Trump Administration.

โ€œWe donโ€™t treat anybody different because of their race or their sex,โ€ Vance told the Phoenix crowd.

Vance continued his message about unity:

In the United States of America, you donโ€™t have to apologize for being white anymore.

And if youโ€™re an Asian, you donโ€™t have to talk around your skin color when youโ€™re applying for college. Because we judge people based on who they are, not on ethnicity and things they canโ€™t control.

We donโ€™t persecute you for being male, for being straight, for being gay, for being anything. The only thing that we demand is that you be a great American patriot. And if youโ€™re that. youโ€™re very much on our team.

Watch:

Those comments were also well-received by the arena. His remark on white men comes a few days after a viral Compact article reported a number of professional fields had โ€œgatekeepers [who] promised extra consideration to anyone who wasnโ€™t a white man.โ€

Vice President Vance touted a number of accomplishments he said the Trump Administration has had in less than a year, including closing down the southern border. He said the crowd must continue to support the โ€œAmerica First Partyโ€ โ€” echoingย Donald Trump Jr., who earlier in the day said theย Republican Party was no longer a thing.

Trump Jr. said it is a new era for the conservative movement โ€” one that is constantly under attack from the Democratic Party and Republicans In Name Only (RINOs). He said those attacks are ramping up as both parties plow towards the 2026 midterm elections.

Here is what the told the AmFest crowd:

Midterms are coming around the corner and make no mistake, the Democrat Party wants to do whatever they possibly can to shut this movement down. Not just the Democrats. The RINOs.

You see the manufactured attacks onย JD [Vance], myself, my father โ€” anyone who understands that this isnโ€™t the Republican Party anymore. Itโ€™s the America First Party. Itโ€™s the Make America Great Again Party. And we are not going back!

Watch:

VP Vance Says Tim Walz Should Resign Over Massive Minnesota Welfare Fraud Scandal

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Vice President JD Vance warned Wednesday that Minnesotaโ€™s massive fraud scandal is not an isolated failure but part of a broader, nationwide scheme exploiting Americaโ€™s welfare system โ€” a problem the Trump administration says it is now aggressively moving to confront.

Speaking on โ€œJesse Watters Primetime,โ€ Vance said the administration believes a large-scale fraud ring involving illegal aliens and other bad actors has been siphoning billions of taxpayer dollars through government assistance programs.

โ€œAnybody who is involved is going to get prosecuted,โ€ Vance vowed on โ€œJesse Watters Primetimeโ€ Wednesday.

The vice presidentโ€™s remarks come as the Trump administration announced it is pausing more than $10 billion in federal funding to five Democrat-run states, including California, amid concerns that taxpayer money was improperly distributed to noncitizens and fraudulent operations. Administration officials say the funding pause is meant to prevent further abuse while investigations are underway.

Minnesota at the Center of the Storm

At the heart of the controversy is Minnesota, where investigators estimate that fraud tied to state-administered programs could total at least $9 billion, making it one of the largest public assistance scandals in U.S. history. The scandal involves complex networks that allegedly used shell organizations, fake documentation, and weak oversight to drain funds intended for vulnerable Americans.

Vance did not mince words when asked whether Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz โ€” who announced Monday that he will not seek re-election โ€” should step down immediately.

โ€œI think Tim Walz should resign,โ€ Vance told Fox News host Jesse Watters. โ€œI almost feel bad for the guy, except for the fact that he shouldโ€™ve seen this.โ€

Calling the situation a โ€œmassive failure of government,โ€ Vance said the problem goes far beyond individual cases of improper benefits.

โ€œItโ€™s not just that people are getting welfare who shouldnโ€™t get welfare. โ€ฆ Itโ€™s bigger than that,โ€ Vance said. โ€œItโ€™s that people take this money and create whole businesses around siphoning money from the American taxpayer.โ€

Watch:

Calls for Accountability Grow

Vanceโ€™s comments echo calls from multiple Republican lawmakers and state officials who have argued that Walzโ€™s administration ignored repeated warning signs, failed to enforce basic safeguards, and allowed fraud to spiral out of control. Several have publicly demanded Walz resign immediately, saying Minnesotans deserve accountability and transparency after years of mismanagement.

The vice president also warned that Minnesota may only be the beginning.

The vice president predicted similar cases of fraud will be found in other places around the country.

California Under Scrutiny

Vance specifically pointed to California, accusing state leaders of openly extending welfare benefits to illegal aliens and daring the federal government to intervene.

He went on to accuse California of being โ€œglaring and obvious about the fact they are giving welfare benefits to illegal aliens,โ€ adding the Trump administration is sending investigators to โ€œa lot of places.โ€

In response, Gov. Gavin Newsomโ€™s office pushed back, defending the stateโ€™s programs and criticizing the administrationโ€™s decision to freeze funding.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Newsomโ€™s office said the California Department of Social Services administers childcare and other essential programs that allow working families to โ€œafford safe, reliable care so parents can go to work, support their families and contribute to their communities.โ€

โ€œThese funds are not optional. They are critical lifelines for working families across California,โ€ the office said. โ€œThe State of California aggressively investigates and prosecutes fraud. Using unsupported allegations to withhold childcare funding only from states that didnโ€™t vote for the President doesnโ€™t stop fraud โ€” it harms struggling moms and dads President Trump claims to be fighting for.โ€

A Broader Reckoning

Trump administration officials argue that the funding pauses and investigations are long overdue and necessary to protect American taxpayers, restore integrity to public assistance programs, and ensure aid goes to citizens and lawful residents who truly need it.