Former aides to President Barack Obama admitted on an episode of "Pod Save America" they should have done "some of the stuff" President Donald Trump is doing with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). 

When discussing DOGE’s initiatives to cut federal spending, the "Obama bros" admitted to "lamenting" their situation. Jon Lovett, a former Obama speechwriter, implied he "didn’t know" the executive branch could radically cut federal spending as the Trump administration has done. 

"Honestly, some of this is pretty annoying because it’s some of the stuff we should’ve done. We didn’t know you could do some of this," Lovett said. 

Jon Favreau, also a former Obama speechwriter, shared Lovett’s frustration, admitting the Obama administration tried to cut through bureaucracy and create government efficiency, but "it’s hard to do."

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"We all know that government is slow. We all know government can be inefficient. We all know that the bureaucracy can be bloated. We all worked in f---ing the White House. We tried to reorganize the government. We tried to find efficiency. It's hard to do," Favreau said. 

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The liberal podcasters also complained about the federal government’s technology during the Obama era. 

"The technology in the federal government, at least when we were there, sucked. There was no service in the basement of the West Wing. You couldn't use your phone because there was no service." Favreau added. 

"Pod Save America" did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on which DOGE initiatives the Obama administration should have done. 

The podcast episode was released ahead of Trump signing an executive order on Tuesday directing agencies to coordinate with DOGE to reduce the size of the federal government. The executive order is the latest in a slew of government slashes these past few weeks, which have targeted everything from DEI funding to migrant hotel bills. 

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The "Obama Bros" have been on a media circuit in recent weeks, directing Democrats on how to politically engage during Trump’s second term. Former Obama spokesman and "Pod Save America" co-host, Tommy Vietor, joined "Jesse Watters Primetime" last month to discuss the future of the Democratic Party. 

Despite not being the president, Elon Musk stands accused of usurping three presidential powers through his Department of Government Efficiency's (DOGE) efforts to cut costs and downsize the scope of the federal government. 

U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., appeared Sunday on MSNBC's "The Weekend," and he was asked if Republicans have joined him and other Democrats to back the "Nobody Elected Elon Musk Act," which was introduced to rein in DOGE, the cost-cutting agency that has targeted certain government programs. 

"At this point, they're either out there cheerleading for Elon Musk or more and more of them are getting real quiet because they see the public does not like this," said Raskin, who is proposing the legislation. 

"The public does not like the idea that a guy who would not even be constitutionally eligible to run for president is acting as president.

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"A guy who, if he were president, would be impeached immediately because he’s taking billions of dollars in foreign government emoluments from all over the world," he added. "And some have actually been talking about impeaching President Elon Musk right now on the theory that he’s usurped the powers of the presidency."

Raskin said Musk wants to create a "techno monarchy" amid his cost-cutting through DOGE. 

"Elon Musk would really like to completely overthrow our system of government and move us into some kind of techno monarchy under the geniuses of Silicon Valley," he said. 

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Musk's role in the Trump administration has garnered praise from Republicans and drawn the ire of Democrats who worry about his access to government databases and say he is trying to take over the government in a way that's not transparent.

"The people voted for major government reform," Musk told reporters Tuesday from the Oval Office alongside Trump. "There should be no doubt about that. That was on the campaign. The president spoke about that at every rally. The people voted for major government reform. And that's what people are going to get."

Since President Donald Trump has taken office, DOGE has set its sights on the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Treasury Department. 

A judge recently issued a temporary restraining order blocking the Musk-led department and political appointees from accessing sensitive Treasury Department data. Trump has also directed DOGE to probe the Education and Defense departments for wasteful spending.

"Billions and billions of dollars in waste, fraud and abuse," Trump said Tuesday. "And I think it's very important. And that's one of the reasons I got elected."

Musk defended DOGE, saying the group is targeting bureaucracies that don't provide anything in return to taxpayers, as well as targeting America's debt. 

"What we have is this unelected, fourth unconstitutional branch of government, which is the bureaucracy, which has, in a lot of ways, currently more power than any elected representative," Musk said. "And this is not something that people want. It does not match the will of the people. So, it's just something we've got we've got to fix.

"So, what I really would say is it's not optional for us to reduce the federal expense," he added. "It's essential."

While the nation anticipates an executive order from President Donald Trump to dismantle the Department of Education, New York Democrats sparked a debate about its legality. The White House says cutting wasteful government funding is "not a crime in a court of law." 

Sen. Kristen Gillibrand, D-N.Y, and Gov. Kathy Hochul, D-N.Y., held a press conference at a Manhattan public school this week, calling Trump’s plans for the education department "illegal" and "unconstitutional." The White House said the Democrats are "gaslighting" Americans. 

"Earlier this week, we learned that the Trump administration is drafting an executive order to shut down the Department of Education," Gillibrand said on Sunday. "This would jeopardize thousands of New York jobs, and billions of dollars in federal funding for New York's kids, teachers, families and schools. We're here to show them that we are ready to fight for our kids, fight for our communities and fight for our schools."

As Trump is expected to take steps this month to defund the Department of Education, Democrats began another week of Trump's second term protesting the Department of Government Efficiency. The Trump administration dismissed the protests as an attempt "to recover from their embarrassing loss" in November. 

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"The Democrats have no plan on how to recover from their embarrassing loss, and it shows. Instead of working to become a party that focuses on the will of the people, they are hell-bent on keeping their heads in the sand and gaslighting on the widely supported mission of DOGE. Slashing waste, fraud, and abuse, and becoming better stewards of the American taxpayer’s hard-earned dollars might be a crime to Democrats, but it’s not a crime in a court of law," White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary, Harrison Fields, told Fox News Digital in a statement. 

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Gillibrand on Sunday reminded New Yorkers that dismantling the Department of Education would require Congressional approval. 

"What he's doing is illegal. It's unconstitutional. It's unconstitutional and illegal. It's unconstitutional because Congress is the only body that is allowed to decide how the taxpayer dollars that New Yorkers send to Washington is spent.

Hochul warned New Yorkers that they will pick up the tab if Trump shuts down the Department of Education.

"The largest part of your local property tax bill is your school taxes," Hochul said. "If that money evaporates from the federal government, where are they going to go? This is going to hit homeowners and businesses, and I want them to be aware of this consequence."

Hochul said defunding the Department of Education could deny students Pell Grants, a federally funded program that helps low-income students pay for college, and New York City’s public school nutrition programs, which provide free breakfast, lunch and after-school meals for students. Hochul urged New York Republicans to speak up in Washington for New York’s public school students. 

"This is an outrage," Gillibrand added. "The Trump administration is stealing money from our kids, from our teachers and from our schools. These are New York tax dollars." 

The New York Democrats said shutting down the Department of Education could cost New York’s 2.6 million students almost one billion dollars annually. 

Hochul and Gillibrand join a growing coalition of Democrats speaking out against Trump’s education plans. Democrats protested outside the Department of Education in Washington, D.C., on Friday, demanding an audience with acting education secretary Denise Carter. Carter is keeping Linda McMahon’s seat warm during her senate confirmation process.

Democratic lawmakers are fuming over the "DOGE boys" and their recent crackdown on federal spending, holding a rally outside the newly formed cost-cutting department's potential next target: the Social Security Administration (SSA).

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk, has been working with federal agencies to identify and cut wasteful spending. Most recently, the group began probing the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for potential fraud — a move that wasn't welcomed by Democratic lawmakers who warned that the SSA could be the next agency on the target list.

On Monday, Sen. Chris Van Hollen, Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, Rep. Kweisi Mfume, D-Ma., Rep. Johnny Olszewski, D-Ma., and Rep. Sarah Elfreth, D-Ma., gathered for a rally outside the SSA headquarters in Baltimore to criticize DOGE's efforts.

"Every time you hear DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency, you just remember it is the department of government evil," said Mfume, a Maryland-based Democrat.

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Fox News Digital previously reported that according to Just Facts, a nonprofit research institute, SSA disbursed roughly $2 billion in fraudulent or improper payments in 2022, which it calculated was enough "to pay 89,947 retired workers the average annual old-age benefit of $21,924 for 2023."

Democrats, however, have claimed that Americans' Social Security benefits could be targeted. 

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"We have one simple message, which is: Elon Musk, keep your hands off our Social Security," Van Hollen told the crowd. 

"Over the last 21 days, we have seen Elon Musk conducting illegal raids on federal agencies with his DOGE crew," the senator said. "This is a recipe for corruption by the DOGE boys."

Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, D-Ma., speaking during the rally, claimed that "the intention of this administration is to make us feel demoralized, to make many of us feel frightened, to incite fear, to silence people."

Many of DOGE's targets have ranged from canceling a number of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives at federal agencies to consolidating duplicative agencies and programs.

DOGE, as of the end of January, said that it was saving the federal government $1 billion a day, mostly by "stopping the hiring of people into unnecessary positions, deletion of DEI and stopping improper payments to foreign organizations, all consistent with the President's Executive Orders."

The efforts have been widely rejected by Democratic lawmakers, who have been gathering outside government agency headquarters in protest of the DOGE agenda.

Fox News Digital's Andrew Mark Miller and Eric Revell contributed to this report.

Podcaster Joe Rogan blasted the Democratic Party for failing to learn from its historic defeat in November. 

While some Democrats have responded to the election loss as a time for reflection as a political movement, others appear committed to their ideology. Rogan and writer Bridget Phetasy spoke about how the Democratic Party is continually shedding more and more people who feel its ideology has gone off the rails.

The podcast host argued that predictions about a red wave during the Biden administration may not have become true during the midterms, but in the general presidential election, "That red wave happened."

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Phetasy noted that there have been multiple waves of people leaving the Democratic Party, saying that she even saw people doing so the previous day. She marveled, "How are you guys still shedding people?"

"They’re gonna keep shedding people," Rogan said. "They’re not going to correct course." He went on to argue that Democrats are still operating as if they had unchecked domination of both media and social media. 

"They're not course-correcting at all. You know, they're saying stupid s---. It's all nonsense," he said. "Their understanding of social media and the dynamics and that you set up by having completely state-controlled mainstream media, where they only said the narratives that you guys wanted. They all said it in step. So you could watch different programs repeat the exact same words, exact same phrases."

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Now, he said, "We know you’ve got talking points, we don’t trust you anymore. We don’t trust The New York Times. We don’t trust The Washington Post. We don’t trust CNN or MSNBC. They’re all full with propaganda." 

He derided the left-wing narrative that their defeat was driven by mysterious donors stirring uprisings online, but rather because, "You guys suck, you guys f---ing suck, and you’re not real people," adding, "Nobody wants to hang out with Brian Stelter."

CNN analyst Mark Preston blasted the "crazy" idea by some Democrats to initiate a partial government shutdown to protest President Donald Trump’s spending cuts.

While closing a "CNN News Central" segment on Monday, co-host Boris Sanchez remarked on how Democrats are now paving the way to shut down the government despite repeatedly warning against them in the past.

Considering the Democratic Party has recently been attacking the Trump administration’s efforts to scale back the government, Preston exclaimed the idea made "no sense politically."

"Crazy talk to do that," Preston said. "How can you argue for a government shutdown when you‘re arguing about government being cut? I don‘t understand that. I mean, it makes no sense politically to me, anyway. But what do I know?"

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Earlier in the show, Preston admitted Trump is likely beating the Democrats in terms of political messaging surrounding government spending cuts.

"Let‘s just take a step back and think about what the American people think about Washington, D.C.," Preston said. "They think very little about Washington, D.C., right? So when they see President Trump going in there and you see Elon Musk going in there and saying, ‘I’ve just cut $17 million.’ He just said he cut a $17 million grant to teach, I don‘t know, tax advice in Liberia. Guess what? The person out in Kansas certainly doesn‘t care about what‘s going on in Liberia right now."

He continued, "So as far as the everyday American, whether it‘s Elon Musk who‘s cutting the money here or the bureaucrats who have been here for all these years doing it, it‘s all the same to them. And that‘s how Trump is trying to frame it."

Preston emphasized that Democrats "need to get it together" if they want to enact their political agenda and reclaim public approval.

"When Cory Booker was on with Dana Bash yesterday on ‘State of the Union,’ he gave a multi-pronged approach about how Democrats were going to take on Trump. The number one idea was the legal strategy. Okay, that should happen, but that should just happen. Number two, legislative and oversight. They don‘t have any oversight because Republicans control Congress. And then he wanted to put someone on the media," Preston said.

"And it is incumbent upon us to explain what is happening in the grander scope, not just 'Boom, boom, boom, this just happened. This just happened. This just happened.' Take a step back," he added.

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Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., notably floated the idea of a shutdown on NBC News' "Meet The Press" Sunday.

"This is on them. This is about whether or not they can get the votes. They are the majority. And if they cannot govern, then that's for the American people to see," Kim said.

"I've worked through multiple government shutdowns. I will be the last person to want to get to that stage. But we are at a point where we are basically on the cusp of a constitutional crisis, seeing this administration taking steps that are so clearly illegal. And until we see a change in that behavior, we should not allow and condone that, nor should we assist in that."

The next government funding deadline is March 15.

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A major solar power plant project that was granted over a billion dollars in federal loans is on the road to closure, with energy experts blasting the project as a "boondoggle" that harmed the environment.

In 2011, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) under former President Barack Obama issued $1.6 billion in loan guarantees to finance the Ivanpah Solar Power Facility, a green energy project that consists of three solar concentrating thermal power plants in California. 

The facility was touted by then-Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz as an "example of how America is becoming a world leader in solar energy." But after 10 years, the federally funded plant is now on track to close. 

"Ivanpah is yet another failed green energy boondoggle, much like Solyndra," Jason Isaac, CEO of the American Energy Institute, an American energy advocacy group, told Fox News Digital in a statement. "Despite receiving $1.6 billion in federal loan guarantees, it never lived up to its promises, producing less electricity than expected while still relying on natural gas to stay operational."

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"Now, with its power contracts canceled, Ivanpah stands as a testament to the waste and inefficiency of government-subsidized energy schemes," Isaac said.

Ivanpah consists of three individual units, two of which were contracted by Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) in 2009 and scheduled to run until 2039. 

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In January, PG&E announced plans to cancel its agreement with Ivanpah 14 years early, determining that "ending the agreements at this time will save customers money compared to the cost of keeping them through 2039" – ultimately putting Ivanpah on notice for closure.

"The Ivanpah plant was a financial boondoggle and environmental disaster," Julia Dowell of the Sierra Club, an environmental activism group, said of the power plant. 

"Along with killing thousands of birds and tortoises, the project’s construction destroyed irreplaceable pristine desert habitat along with numerous rare plant species," Dowell said. "While the Sierra Club strongly supports innovative clean energy solutions and recognizes the urgent need to transition away from fossil fuels, Ivanpah demonstrated that not all renewable technologies are created equal."

This comes after another DOE-funded green energy project, Solyndra, went bankrupt in 2011 after receiving $535 million in federal loan guarantees from the Obama administration.

"Green projects have a long history of expensive taxpayer-subsidized disaster that is getting more so," Steve Milloy, senior fellow at the Energy & Environmental Legal Institute and former Trump EPA transition team member, said in a statement to Fox.

Milloy suggested that further green energy failures could come from projects funded by recent Democrat-backed legislation that aims to push the green energy agenda.

"Soon we will be looking at failures of larger magnitude than Green New Deal spending. No green project relying on taxpayer subsidies has ever made any economic or environmental sense," Milloy said. "It’s important that President Trump stop the taxpayer bleeding by ending what he accurately calls the Green New Scam."

Rep. Jared Golden, D-ME, warned members of the Democratic Party against going "DEFCON 5" on everything President Donald Trump does in an interview on Friday, explaining it would lose them credibility.

"I don’t think that it’s been very effective, the Dem response, so far. In fact, I’m frustrated by it. If you make everything DEFCON 5, then eventually nothing is DEFCON 5. You know what I mean? And on questions of overreach of constitutional authority, it’s not always so cut and dry," Golden said. 

Golden has criticized his party and Democratic leadership over the last few years, including President Biden, over the border crisis and for the party's messaging around authoritarianism and fascism. The Democratic lawmaker also predicted Trump would win the election in an op-ed for the Bangor Daily News, revealing that he would be okay with it. 

"And I think if you rush right out and just say, like, ‘This is, like, dictatorial or illegal,’ you might end up being wrong, and that undermines your credibility," Golden told the Washington Post.

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The Washington Post asked Golden if Democrats should be more "discerning with their outrage."

Golden provided an example of his response to the president's comments on the Gaza Strip last week.

"I’m not going to react instantaneously to everything the president says. I’m going to be paying attention to what the president does. And when it comes to the conflict between Israel and Gaza, what I’m interested in seeing him doing is bringing home the hostages, particularly the remaining American hostages," he responded. 

Golden reiterated that he would review Trump's actions, not his words, and see if they undermine American interests.

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Golden also seemed hopeful about working with Trump's administration on some policy aspects. 

"On issues having to do with securing our border, with energy — I’m really in the camp of all-of-the-above energy approach for American energy independence and security and defense — there’s a lot of room to work together," he told the Post.

"And on the tax side, it’s a little more difficult for me to see space to be proactively involved, and that’s because of my skepticism that they will generate a tax policy that is both good for growth, good for the American people — particularly middle-class people — and doesn’t do great damage to our ever-increasing budget deficit and national debt. But, I mean, I’d love to be pleasantly surprised," he added. 

Golden noted he voted against two major bills in the Biden administration, the American Rescue Plan and the Build Back Better bill.

HBO host Bill Maher got real about the Democratic Party’s new leadership on Friday, saying it doesn’t reflect the party moving to give voters what they want. 

The "Real Time" host torched the newly elected Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin, stating his election does not reflect that the party is making the changes it needs to win back voters.

"I was not aware of who he was before. I did not think it got off to a great start because I think they need to completely reroute themselves, and I don’t think they did it," Maher told his guest, MSNBC anchor Chris Hayes.

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The DNC elected Ken Martin, the Minnesota party leader, to the position last Saturday, beating out Martin O'Malley, the former two-term Maryland governor. 

Following his victory, he said, "We have one team, one team, the Democratic Party. The fight is for our values. The fight is for working people. The fight right now is against Donald Trump and the billionaires who bought this country." 

During his program, Maher didn’t hide his frustrations with the new leader, accusing him of relaying the same tired talking point that the party employed up until their defeat last November.

"I mean, this Ken Martin guy, he said something I’ve heard Democrats say a lot, ‘We didn’t get our message out’ – And maybe I’m paraphrasing... And I’ve said this before to Democrats – No, you did. That’s the problem."

"You did get your message out and people don’t like the message," he declared.

Maher reinforced his point later in the episode when talking to Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., and reporter Tara Palmeri. He paraphrased a line from a recent New York Times article, stating, "Many Americans say they do not believe the Democratic Party is focused on the issues that matter most to them."

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Adding his own thought, he said, "So, if you think all this Trump stuff is going to go away because the other party is going to come in, well that may not be the case."

Continuing to read from The Times piece, Maher said, "Here’s what people think is important to the Democrats, ‘abortion, L.G.B.T.Q. rights and climate change.’"

The host pointed out that the party hasn’t prioritized the issues voters care about. 

"To me, as a voter, my issues were democracy and the environment," he said, noting those weren’t focused on by the party. "And now I have no one who’s a champion of those issues in the government, and I blame the Democrats for that."

"The people do not feel they’re representing them, and they’re losing," he said, adding that The Times reported how voters saw "the economy, inflation, healthcare and immigration" as the main issues in the last election. 

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President Donald Trump is planning to end bans and restrictions on plastic straws, according to his recent post on Truth Social.

"I will be signing an Executive Order next week ending the ridiculous Biden push for Paper Straws, which don't work," Trump posted Friday. "BACK TO PLASTIC!"

If signed, the executive order would affect laws in several Democratic-run states that currently have bans or restrictions on single-use plastic straws, such as California, Colorado, New York, Maine, Oregon, Vermont, Rhode Island and Washington.

The impending executive order comes just months after the Biden administration announced plans in July to phase out single-use plastic in the federal government.

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Blue states such as California and New York currently have laws in place limiting the use of single-use plastic straws in full-service restaurants, unless it is requested by the customer. 

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Democratic states have also adopted the use of paper straws as a more environment-friendly alternative, which has been criticized by Trump for years, who wrote in a 2019 social media post that "liberal paper straws don't work."

"Greatest President ever!" wrote Elon Musk, who is leading efforts at the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency, in a post on X regarding the president's plan for plastic straws.

San Francisco Mayor David Lurie launched the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) Hospitality Task Force and secured a key vote in support of the Fentanyl State of Emergency Ordinance this week as he works to clean up San Francisco's streets and restore common sense policies to the liberal city. 

San Francisco has had one of the slowest economic recoveries from the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. Images of San Francisco’s open-air drug markets, homeless encampments and empty office buildings have caught the nation’s attention since the pandemic. 

The SFPD Hospitality Task Force will target San Francisco’s business and tourist districts, increasing police presence, dedicating resources to high-traffic areas and offering support to the hospitality industry. 

"Helping people feel safe walking downtown is the key to unleashing our city’s comeback," Lurie said. "We are creating the conditions for a thriving commercial center by launching the SFPD Hospitality Task Force. The Hospitality Task Force will break down silos to increase the police presence across the areas that drive our city’s economy, not just during large conferences, but 365 days a year."

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Major retailers, including Nordstrom and Saks Off Fifth, pulled out of San Francisco’s downtown due to rising crime and dwindling foot traffic. After more than 20 years in the heart of downtown San Francisco, Westfield abandoned the San Francisco Centre mall in 2023, citing a decline in sales, occupancy and foot traffic. 

San Franciscans voted Mayor London Breed out of office in November. She was elected in 2018 and led the city through its struggling pandemic recovery. Lurie, a Levi's heir and political outsider, began his first term as mayor in January. 

He campaigned on cleaning up San Francisco’s streets, public safety, tackling the city’s drug crisis, creating housing, cutting through corrupt bureaucracy and "breathing life back into our downtown."

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"With a safe, bustling downtown, we will attract businesses, shoppers, tourists and conventions, creating jobs, generating revenue and helping us provide better services for everyone in San Francisco," Lurie said of the new task force. 

Also this week, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted 10-1 in favor of Mayor Lurie’s Fentanyl State of Emergency Ordinance. 

"As a candidate for mayor, I promised San Franciscans that I would work in partnership with the Board of Supervisors to take action on the critical issues facing our city," Lurie said. "As mayor, I am proud to be delivering on that promise today. The Fentanyl State of Emergency Ordinance gives us the tools to treat this crisis with the urgency it demands. And with our partners on the board, that’s exactly what we will do." 

The ordinance will equip the city with the resources "to get drugs off the street and keep San Franciscans safe" by unlocking funding and expediting the contracting process to allow for expanded treatment options, increased shelter capacity and health initiatives. The full Board of Supervisors will address the ordinance Tuesday for a second and final reading before Lurie can sign the ordinance into law. 

"I don’t think there’s a problem facing San Francisco today that isn’t caused by or made significantly worse by street-level drug addiction," Supervisor Matt Dorsey, who voted in favor of the ordinance, said.

"Mayor Lurie’s emergency ordinance aims to surge resources that deliver solutions as big as the problems. This is a needed approach to restore order to our streets, to diminish San Francisco’s attraction as a drug-use and drug-dealing destination and to save lives."

Social media users are slamming a Democratic senator's impassioned speech opposing a halt to millions of taxpayer dollars being funneled to controversial, DEI-aligned programs overseas.

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., spoke at a rally outside the Capitol building Wednesday in protest of Elon Musk's sweep of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

"We will fight their violation of civil service laws. We will fight their violation of civil rights laws. We will fight their violations of separation of powers. We will fight their violations of our Constitution of the United States of America," Booker said. "We will not shut up. We will stick up. We will rise up."

Trump's rapid response team called out Booker for opposing cuts to the agency funding controversial programs, which, according to the White House, gave $1.5 million to "advance diversity, equity and inclusion in Serbia's workplaces and business communities."

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"Why is Cory Booker so angry at the idea of making sure American tax dollars are spent to further the national interest of the United States and not on things like ‘LGBT activism’ in Guatemala?" Team Trump wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter. 

"Cory Booker is having an absolute meltdown because we don't want American tax dollars to be wasted on bizarre projects in foreign countries," LibsofTikTok wrote.

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New Jersey state Sen. Mike Testa, a Republican, wrote that Booker is "grandstanding on behalf of foreign pet projects" instead of "standing up for the will of his constituents."

"New Jerseyans have been kicked in the face and forgotten by their United States Senators for years," Testa said on X. "We deserve a hell of a lot better."

"Sen. Cory Booker is BIG MAD that lesbian dance therapy for Ethiopians will no longer be paid for by US tax dollars Why are Democrats like this?" wrote another user, Nick Sorter.

The White House released a detailed report outlining USAID spending over the past few years, including $15 million on contraceptives and condoms that ended up in the hands of the Taliban and another $20 million allocated to fund Sesame Street in Iraq.

The funds were awarded by the Biden administration to a nonprofit called Sesame Workshop to produce a show called "Ahlan Simsim Iraq" in an effort to reportedly "promote inclusion, mutual respect, and understanding across ethnic, religious, and sectarian groups." 

Musk has been leading the charge to expose and cut funding from USAID as part of his spending crackdown at the newly-formed Department of Government Efficiency. 

Hundreds of activists, including several Democratic members of Congress, gathered Wednesday to protest the USAID cuts and criticize Musk's role in the Trump administration.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt slammed Democrats Wednesday for their criticism of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), calling it "unacceptable" and "incredibly alarming." 

"Some elected Democrats are so steamed about DOGE – Congresswoman LaMonica McIver says we are at war. Ilhan Omar says we might actually see somebody get killed. And Chris Van Hollen says we have to fight this in the Congress, we have to fight this in the streets. So what now?" Leavitt was asked by Fox News' senior White House correspondent Peter Doocy. 

"It's unacceptable, the comments that have been made by these Democrat leaders, and frankly, they don't even know what they're talking about, because President Trump was elected with a mandate from the American people to make this government more efficient," Leavitt responded. 

"He campaigned across this country with Elon Musk vowing that Elon was going to head up the Department of Government Efficiency and the two of them with a great team around them were going to look at the receipts of this federal government and ensure it's accountable to American taxpayers. That's all that is happening here," Leavitt continued. "And for Democrat officials to incite violence and encourage Americans to take to the streets, is incredibly alarming, and they should be held accountable for that rhetoric." 

DEMOCRAT LAWMAKERS FACE BACKLASH FOR INVOKING ‘UNHINGED’ VIOLENT RHETORIC AGAINST MUSK 

Leavitt also said during her daily White House press briefing, "If you heard that type of violent, enticing rhetoric from our side of the aisle, from Republican leaders on Capitol Hill, I think there would be a lot more outrage in this room today." 

On Tuesday, Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said, "What we are witnessing here is the biggest heist in American history." 

"This is the most corrupt bargain we've ever seen in American history: Elon Musk gives $250 million to elect Donald Trump, and Donald Trump turns over the keys to United States government to Elon Musk and his billionaire friends and his cronies," Van Hollen said during a protest outside the Treasury Department in Washington, D.C. 

"Are we going to let that stand? Hell no, we are not going to let that stand," Van Hollen added, later vowing, "We have to fight this in the courts, we have to fight this in the Congress, we have to fight this in the streets. We need to fight this all over America." 

USAID EMPLOYEE SAYS STAFFERS HID PRIDE FLAGS, ‘INCRIMINATING’ BOOKS WHEN DOGE ARRIVED 

"Shut down the city! We are at war!" Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., shouted into a microphone. 

On Monday morning, hundreds of employees for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) reported they were locked out of the agency’s computer system and that its headquarters in Washington, D.C., was closed on Monday.  

The agency’s fate is hanging in the balance as DOGE is working on an apparent overhaul of the agency. 

"The level of disrespect actually is criminal because there are crisis response teams that are around the world that really rely on having access to their emails – having access to apps that they can utilize if there’s danger to them," Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., told MSNBC, according to The Hill. "All of those accesses are cut off."  

"So we might actually see somebody get killed. An American who works for the American government might be harmed in some of those countries that they’re operating in," she reportedly added. 

Fox News’ Emma Colton and Louis Casiano contributed to this report. 

Newly elected Democratic National Committee Vice Chair David Hogg has previously called on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to be abolished and for the defunding of police.

"Defund the police not USPS," Hogg, who first entered the national spotlight after surviving the 2018 Parkland, Florida, school shooting, said in an X post on Aug. 15, 2020.

"Abolish ICE," Hogg said in a different post two weeks earlier.

DAVID HOGG SAYS HE RECEIVED 'AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF VITRIOL' FOR ASKING ABOUT DEM OUTREACH TO YOUNG MEN

The posts, which were made more than two years after Hogg survived the Florida school shooting, came as he became increasingly involved in political activism, most notably by his staunch advocacy for stricter gun laws.

Hogg has also made controversial posts on other topics, including a January 2021 call to declare the NRA a "terrorist organization."

"The NRA needs to be designated a terrorist organization for the role their supporters played in staging an insurrectionist coup," Hogg said in the post.

Hogg also made posts about climate change and incorrectly predicted the outcome of the 2024 election.

"Unlike Covid there is no vaccine for climate change once we start feeling the impacts we can just implement and survive. There is only one solution – prevention," Hogg said in in one post.

"If this election is a match up between Taylor Swift and Ted Nugent I think it's safe to say I've seen enough – Biden wins the 2024 election," Hogg said before former President Joe Biden made the decision to drop out of the 2024 race.

Now just 24 years old, Hogg took to social media early Sunday to celebrate his election to leadership within the DNC.

DEMOCRATS CONSIDER REBRAND AFTER TRUMP WIN, WANT TO AVOID ‘FREAK SHOW’ PARTY LABEL: REPORT

"I’ve just been elected as a Vice Chair of the DNC. I’m deeply grateful to the members for their trust and belief in me and I don’t take it lightly. Now it’s time to get to work," Hogg said in a post on X, going on to promise a "Democratic Party that is authentic, relatable, earns people's trust, and wins again."

"It’s time we stop surrendering, go on offense, and take the fight to Donald Trump and every single Republican who is gutting our rights, attacking workers, and rigging the system for the wealthy and well-connected," Hogg said.

But the elevation of Hogg to vice chair of the DNC also comes at a time of deep soul-searching for the Democratic Party, with many analysts blaming the party’s poor 2024 showing on its seemingly soft stances on crime and illegal immigration.

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Nevertheless, Hogg called on the party to "rethink the way we've been doing things" in his post on X, arguing that it is vital "to rid our party of its judgmental attitudes, and do the work to win back every group we lost this year, from the working class to young people."

The DNC did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.

Conservatives on social media are having a field day mocking the Democratic National Committee for featuring a handful of "beyond parody" moments during its leadership vote over the weekend, which critics say underscores that Democrats have "learned absolutely nothing" from their 2024 election losses. 

The DNC voted to elect Minnestota Democrat Party leader Ken Martin as its chair on Saturday, after eight candidates vied to succeed Jaime Harrison. Following the Democratic Party's losses in November, when Republicans reclaimed the White House and Senate and retained control of the House, the DNC's chair vote serves as a fresh slate for the party as they ramp up strategies and fundraising for the next election cycle. 

Conservatives and critics took to social media over the weekend to highlight what they viewed as the most out of touch speeches and comments from party leaders, including the election of left-wing activist David Hogg as one of its three co-chairs. Hogg is an outspoken gun control advocate and the co-founder of March for Our Lives, a gun control group that was formed after the Parkland school shooting in 2018. 

DEMOCRATS ELECT NEW CHAIR WHO BRANDED TRUMP A 'TRAITOR' AS PARTY AIMS TO REBOUND FROM DISASTROUS 2024 ELECTION

"DNC Vice Chair David Hogg has some legitimately INSANE views that are wildly out of step with the American people. Good to see that the Democrat Party has learned absolutely nothing," conservative communicator Steve Guest posted to X. 

Hogg, a Parkland school shooting survivor, said from the DNC vote in Maryland that the party will put Republicans "on the defense" in the coming days and reclaim lost political ground. 

"After Parkland, our country was in a similar moment – where we had a Republican trifecta in Washington," the 24-year-old said during the DNC election. "We went on the offense, put the Republicans on the defense, and we won. That’s what we need to do right now."

'IMPORTANT OPPORTUNITY': DNC CHAIR CANDIDATES REVEAL HOW THEY WILL REBOUND AFTER DISASTROUS 2024 RESULTS

"We’re going to show people that the reason people should vote for us isn’t just because we’re not Republicans – it’s because we’re damn Democrats. We give a s---," he pledged. "And we deliver. Now it’s time to rebuild the party and to rethink the way we’ve been doing things."

Amid the hours-long vote and gathering of Democrats on Saturday in Maryland, former DNC chief Harrison announced that the elections must be gender-balanced, including when a non-binary candidate is in the running, sparking condemnation from conservatives. 

DEMOCRATS RALLY AROUND LIGHTENING ROD ISSUE AT FINAL DNC CHAIR DEBATE

"We have an amazing group of new officers. So far, as you know, our three at large vice chair positions are used to ensure gender balance among seven offices: treasury secretary, national finance chair and vice chair for civic engagement and voter participation and the three at large vice chairs. Our rules specify that when we have a non-binary candidate or officer, the non-binary individual is counted as neither male nor female, and the remaining six offices must be gender balanced with the results of the previous four elections. Our elected officers are currently two male and two female. In order to be gender balanced… we must elect one male, one female, and one person of any gender."

Before the election kicked off on Saturday, the eight candidates had traveled to Georgetown University for a forum co-hosted by MSNBC on Thursday, where they declared "racism and misogyny" compounded former Vice President Kamala Harris' election loss. 

"So, I’m going to have a show of hands. How many of you believe that racism and misogyny played a role in Vice President Harris’ defeat?" MSNBC's Jonathan Capehart asked the eight candidates. 

"That’s good. You all passed," Capehart said after all candidates raised their hands in agreement. 

Republican lawmakers and pundits pounced on clips of the exchange, including Sen. Tommy Tubervile, R-Ala., who quipped that the GOP will expand its majority in the midterms. 

Singing also broke out both during the forum and the vote. Dr. Quintessa Hathaway was in the running for chair and belted out a song with the lyrics, "You fight on, when the government is doing you wrong, you fight on" during the Thursday forum. She also sang another song ahead of the vote on Saturday vowing, "We shall overcome."

FIRST ON FOX: AFTER 2024 ELECTION SETBACKS, DEMOCRATS EYE RURAL VOTERS

Harrison was also spotted on camera singing on Saturday, delivering a rendition of Stevie Wonder's "Happy Birthday." 

DEMOCRATS' HOUSE CAMPAIGN CHAIR TELLS FOX NEWS HER PLAN TO WIN BACK MAJORITY

DNC members also "acknowledged" during the vote that the U.S. was "built on indigenous lands."

Ken Martin, who previously slammed Trump as a "traitor" who should be prosecuted for treason, celebrated his win on Saturday, vowing to combat Trump and the Republican Party. 

"We have one team, one team, the Democratic Party," Martin said following his victory. "The fight is for our values. The fight is for working people. The fight right now is against Donald Trump and the billionaires who bought this country."

"We need to go on offense," Martin said. "We're going to go out there and take this fight to Donald Trump and the Republicans."

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Fox News Digital reached out to the DNC on Sunday for comment on the negative backlash over the gathering, but did not immediately receive a reply.  

Fox News Digital's Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report. 

As the Democratic Party continues to grapple with former Vice president Kamala Harris' loss to President Trump, some leaders in the party think they should focus on their economic messaging and creating a coherent message to respond to the president.

"We have no coherent message," Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, told The New York Times on Sunday. "This guy is psychotic, and there’s so much, but everything that underlines it is white supremacy and hate. There needs to be a message that is clear on at least the underlying thing that comes with all of this."

The DNC elected Minnesota party leader Ken Martin on Saturday, who said during his victory speech they needed to "to rebuild our coalition."

"The policies that we support and the message that we have is not wrong," Martin told the NYT. "It is a messaging problem and a brand problem. Those voters are not connecting our policies with their lives."

FINAL DNC CHAIR DEBATE ROCKED BY PROTESTS 

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said the messaging should focus on the economy.

"There are people in the middle — and trust me, there’s a lot of them — that wanted costs to go down," Klobuchar said. "Instead, what they see is chaos going up, corruption going up with the firing of the inspector generals, and guess what else is going up? Egg prices."

Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., said Democrats needed to focus their message on lowering costs.

"Within the party, we need to make sure we have a very clear direction to go," he said. "We need to have our own ideas. We’ll never win again if we are just playing defense."

The New York Times reported that former President Obama compared this to when the Democratic Party had lost Congress and the presidency in 2005.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF MEDIA AND CULTURE

Others suggested not honing in on everything the president said.

"We cannot get caught up in every egregious thing he says, every insult he hurls, every ally he attacks and every executive order," Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, told the NYT. "There’s just too much."

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries recently pledged that Democrats would fight against Trump "in the streets."

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"Right now, we're going to keep focus on the need to look out for everyday New Yorkers and everyday Americans who are under assault by an extreme MAGA Republican agenda that is trying to cut taxes for billionaires, donors, and wealthy corporations and then stick New Yorkers and working class Americans across the country with the bill," Jeffries said.

"That's not acceptable. We are going to fight it legislatively. We are going to fight it in the courts. We're going to fight it in the streets."

Veteran Democratic strategist James Carville compared Democrats running former Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election to starting a "7th string quarterback" in the Super Bowl, in an interview with PBS' Margaret Hoover on Friday.

"We ran a presidential election, if we were playing a Super Bowl, we started our 7th string quarterback. That's what happened, okay?," said Carville on "Firing Line." "You can't address a problem unless you're honest about a problem."

The Democratic strategist continued by noting that Democratic voters would've been enthralled to have a presidential candidate that could "actually complete a sentence."

JAMES CARVILLE SAYS NOBODY WANTS TO HEAR FROM BIDEN ANYMORE

"Now, if you would've put the staggering talent that exists in today's Democratic Party -- you heard what I said? The staggering talent that exists in today's Democratic Party. If people would have seen that, they'd have gone 'I didn't know they had people like that, that can actually complete a sentence, okay? That actually know how to frame a message, that actually have a sense of accomplishment of doing something,'" claimed Carville.

Kamala Harris faced harsh criticism while on the campaign trail for her struggles in dealing with unscripted conversations, which typically yielded word salad responses from the former vice president.

In the weeks leading up to the 2024 presidential election, Carville was so convinced that Kamala would win, he wrote a column for the New York Times titled, "Three Reasons I’m Certain Kamala Harris Will Win."

Carville's column slammed Trump as a "repeat electoral loser" and claimed "This time will be no different," while heaping praise on Harris.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF MEDIA AND CULTURE

"On the other side, in just three months Ms. Harris has assembled a unified and electrified coalition. From Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to Liz and Dick Cheney, it is the broadest we have seen in modern political history… and if the bigger coalition turns out with equal enthusiasm, it will be lights out for Mr. Trump."

Carville's column also criticized the "sweaty Democratic operatives" who, in the weeks leading up to the election, were having doubts about Harris' chances of beating Trump.

"More than in any other election in my lifetime, I’ve been consistently asked by people of all stripes and creeds: ‘Can Kamala Harris win this thing? Are we going to be OK?’ This sentiment is heard over and over from sweaty Democratic operatives who all too often love to run to the press with their woes," said Carville.

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The Democratic National Committee (DNC) on Saturday elected Minnesota party leader Ken Martin, who once called for President Donald Trump to be tried for treason, as its next national chair in the wake of the party's disastrous performance in the November elections.

The election of Martin is the party's first formal step to try and rebound from the November elections, in which President Donald Trump recaptured the White House, and Republicans flipped the Senate, held on to their fragile majority in the House and made major gains with working-class, minority and younger voters.

"We have one team, one team, the Democratic Party," Martin said following his victory. "The fight is for our values. The fight is for working people. The fight right now is against Donald Trump and the billionaires who bought this country."

Martin, over the past eight years, has served as a DNC vice chair and has led the association of state Democratic Party chairs.

RNC CHAIR, AFTER CRUISING TO RE-ELECTION, VOWS TO BE ‘TIP OF SPEAR’ TO PROTECT TRUMP

He topped Wisconsin Democratic Party chair Ben Wikler by over 100 votes among the 428 DNC members who cast ballots as they gathered for the party's annual winter meeting, which this year was held at National Harbor in Maryland, just outside of Washington, D.C.

Martin O'Malley, the former two-term Maryland governor and 2016 Democratic presidential candidate who served as commissioner of the Social Security Administration during former President Biden's last year in office, was a distant third in the voting.

Among the longshot candidates were Faiz Shakir, who ran the 2020 Democratic presidential campaign of Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, and Marianne Williamson, who ran unsuccessfully for the 2020 and 2024 Democratic presidential nominations. Williamson endorsed Martin on Saturday, ahead of the vote.

FINAL DNC CHAIR DEBATE ROCKED BY PROTESTS 

The eight candidates in the race were vying to succeed DNC Chair Jaime Harrison, who decided against seeking a second straight four-year term steering the national party committee.

With no clear leader in the party, the next DNC chair could become the de facto face of Democrats from coast to coast and will make major decisions on messaging, strategy, infrastructure and where to spend millions in political contributions.

In his victory speech, Martin stressed unity and that the party needed "to rebuild our coalition."

"We need to go on offense," Martin said. "We're going to go out there and take this fight to Donald Trump and the Republicans."

Martin has used stronger language against Trump in the past.

In 2020, he called Trump a "traitor" who should be tried for treason.

"[Donald Trump] should be immediately impeached and then put on trial for treason," Martin wrote on June 29, 2020, citing an anonymously sourced news story. "His actions led to the deaths of American soldiers. He is a traitor to our nation and all those who have served."

Trump, during his first term in office, at times accused Democrats of being "un-American" and "treasonous."

An key Martin supporter, longtime New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair Ray Buckley, told Fox News Digital ahead of the chair election that "it's an important opportunity for us to not only refocus the party and what we present to voters, but also an opportunity for us to look at how we internally govern ourselves."

WHAT RNC CHAIR WHATLEY TOLD FOX NEWS 

Buckley, a former DNC vice chair and Martin's predecessor as head of the state party chairs, said he's "very excited about the potential of great reform within the party." He emphasized that he hoped for "significantly more support for the state parties. That's going to be a critical step towards our return to majority status."

Former Vice President Kamala Harris, who succeeded President Biden last July as the party's 2024 standard-bearer, spoke with Martin, Wikler and O'Malley in the days ahead of Saturday's election, Fox News confirmed. But Harris stayed neutral in the vote for party chair.

In a video message to the audience as the vote for chair was being tabulated, Harris said that the DNC has some "hard work ahead."

But she pledged to be with the party "every step of the way," which could be a signal of her future political ambitions.

The debate during the three-month DNC campaign sprint mostly focused on the logistics of modern political campaigns, such as media strategy and messaging, fundraising and grassroots organizing and get-out-the-vote efforts. On those nuts-and-bolts issues, the candidates were mostly in agreement that changes are needed to win back blue-collar voters who now support Republicans.

But the final forum included a heavy focus on race and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, issues that appeared to hurt Democrats at the ballot box in November.

The forum, moderated and carried live on MSNBC and held at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., devolved into chaos early on as a wave of left-wing protesters repeatedly interrupted the primetime event, heckling over concerns of climate change and billionaires' influence in America's elections before they were forcibly removed by security.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The chair election took place as a new national poll spelled more trouble for the Democrats.

Only 31% of respondents in a Quinnipiac University survey conducted over the past week had a favorable opinion of the Democratic Party, with 57% seeing the party in an unfavorable light.

"This is the highest percentage of voters having an unfavorable opinion of the Democratic Party since the Quinnipiac University Poll began asking this question," the survey's release noted. 

Meanwhile, 43% of those questioned had a favorable view of the GOP, with 45% holding an unfavorable opinion, which was the highest favorable opinion for the Republican Party ever in Quinnipiac polling.

Fox News' Matthew Reidy contributed to this report

Nearly three months after Democrats' major setbacks up and down the ballot in the 2024 elections, the party gathers on Saturday to choose new leadership.

It's the Democratic National Committee's (DNC) first formal step to try and emerge from the political wilderness and rebound in upcoming elections after President Donald Trump recaptured the White House and Republicans flipped the Senate, held onto their fragile majority in the House and made major gains with working-class, minority and younger voters.

And with no clear leader in the party, the next DNC chair will become the de facto face of Democrats from coast to coast and will make major decisions on messaging, strategy, infrastructure and where to spend millions in political contributions.

"It's an important opportunity for us to not only refocus the party and what we present to voters, but also an opportunity for us to look at how we internally govern ourselves," longtime New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair Ray Buckley told Fox News.

DEMOCRATS RALLY AROUND LIGHTENING ROD ISSUE AT FINAL DNC CHAIR DEBATE

Buckley, a former DNC vice chair, said he's "very excited about the potential of great reform within the party." And he emphasized he hoped for "significantly more support for the state parties. That's going to be a critical step towards our return to majority status."

Eight candidates are vying to succeed DNC Chair Jaime Harrison, who decided against seeking a second straight four-year term steering the national party committee.

FIRST ON FOX: AFTER 2024 ELECTION SETBACKS, DEMOCRATS EYE RURAL VOTERS

The next chair, as well as vice chairs and other officers, will be chosen by the roughly 450 DNC voting members gathered for the party's winter meeting, which is being held this year at National Harbor just outside Washington, D.C.

Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party Chair Ken Martin, a DNC vice chair who has led the association of state Democratic Party chairs, is considered to be the frontrunner for chair heading into Saturday's election, with Wisconsin Chair Ben Wikler close behind. 

Martin recently told Fox News Digital that if he becomes chair, the first thing he would do is "figure out a plan to win. And we need to start writing that plan, making sure we’re looking underneath the hood. How much money do we have at the party? What are the contracts? What contracts do we need to get rid of? And, frankly, bringing all of our stakeholder groups together. That’s the biggest thing."

DEMOCRATS' NEW SENATE CAMPAIGN CHAIR REVEALS KEYS TO WINNING BACK MAJORITY IN 2026

Wikler, in a Fox News Digital interview, emphasized that the party needs to show voters "that we're fighting for them against those who would try to rig the economy for those at the very top and deliver that message in places where people aren't paying attention to politics much. But they know what they're struggling with in their own lives."

Wikler, who pointed to the success of Democrats in his home state, a crucial battleground, added, "That means communicating in clear language in a way that shows people that we see them. And with our actions showing that we're fighting for them to bring costs down and make sure that working people have a fair shot in this country."

Also considered competitive is Martin O'Malley, the former two-term Maryland governor and 2016 Democratic presidential candidate who served as commissioner of the Social Security Administration during former President Biden's last year in office.

DEMOCRATS' HOUSE CAMPAIGN CHAIR TELLS FOX NEWS HER PLAN TO WIN BACK MAJORITY

O'Malley told Fox News Digital he's running for DNC chair "because I love my country, and the only way we're going to save the Republic is if the Democratic Party gets itself battle-ready as quickly as possible." 

Pointing to his past steering the Democratic Governors Association, he noted, "I'm the only candidate that's actually chaired a national committee — the Democratic Governors — and I'm the only candidate that's actually run for office and been elected to office, city council, mayor, governor. And we need to recruit people all across the ballot in order to bring our party back."

Among the longer-shot candidates for chair are late entry Faiz Shakir, who ran the 2020 Democratic presidential campaign of progressive champion Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, and Marianne Williamson, who ran unsuccessfully for the 2020 and 2024 Democratic presidential nominations.

"This party's not going to rise up unless there's some deeper honesty," Williamson told reporters Thursday after the final chair election forum, as she took aim at the Democrats' establishment.

The debate during the three-month DNC campaign sprint has mostly focused on the logistics of modern political campaigns, such as media strategy and messaging, fundraising and grassroots organizing and get-out-the-vote efforts. On those nuts-and-bolts issues, the candidates are mostly in agreement that changes are needed to win back blue-collar voters who now support Republicans.

But the final forum included a heavy focus on systemic racism and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, issues that appeared to hurt Democrats at the ballot box in November.

And the forum, moderated and carried live on MSNBC and held at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., devolved into chaos early on as a wave of left-wing protesters repeatedly interrupted the primetime event, heckling over concerns of climate change and billionaires' influence in America's elections before they were forcibly removed by security.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The chair election comes as a new national poll spells more trouble for the Democrats.

Only 31% of respondents in a Quinnipiac University survey conducted over the past week had a favorable opinion of the Democratic Party, with 57% seeing the party in an unfavorable light.

"This is the highest percentage of voters having an unfavorable opinion of the Democratic Party since the Quinnipiac University Poll began asking this question," the survey's release noted. 

Meanwhile, 43% of those questioned had a favorable view of the GOP, with 45% holding an unfavorable opinion, which was the highest favorable opinion for the Republican Party ever in Quinnipiac polling.

California Democrats are attempting to make state oil and gas companies pay for damage caused by the Los Angeles wildfires, claiming that fossil fuel emissions are to blame for the deadly disaster.

A new Democrat-introduced bill, the Affordable Insurance and Climate Recovery Act, if passed, would allow for "victims of climate disasters," such as the L.A. fires, and insurance groups to sue oil and gas companies for damages under the claim that their emissions fueled the raging fires.

Democrat state Sen. Scott Wiener, who introduced the bill this week, said that fossil fuel companies should pay for fire damage, because they are "driving the climate crisis."

"Californians shouldn’t be the only ones to pay the costs of devastating climate disasters. From last year’s floods to the fires in LA, we know that the fossil fuel industry bears ultimate responsibility for fueling these disasters," state Sen. Scott Wiener wrote in a post on X announcing the legislation. 

TRUMP MEETS WITH CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS, FIRE AND LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS TO SEE LA WILDFIRE DAMAGE FIRST HAND

The bill, which received the backing of several state lawmakers, comes as Democrats have attempted to blame the recent fires on climate change rather than state and city policies, which have faced heightened criticism in the weeks following the deadly blaze.

Just months before the wildfire, the city of Los Angeles slashed the fire department funding by over $17 million. The L.A. fire chief said that there are "not enough firefighters in L.A. County to address four separate fires of this magnitude."

NEWSOM THANKS TRUMP FOR COMING TO CALIFORNIA TO TOUR FIRE DAMAGE IN TARMAC FACE-OFF

"We pay the highest taxes in California. Our fire hydrants were empty. Our vegetation was overgrown, brush not cleared. Our reservoirs were emptied by our governor because tribal leaders wanted to save fish. Our fire department budget was cut by our mayor. But thank god drug addicts are getting their drug kits," actress Sara Foster wrote in a post on X. "@MayorOfLA @GavinNewsom RESIGN. Your far-left policies have ruined our state. And also our party."

Trump used the power of his pen this week to sign an executive order to override the state's environmental policies in order to create more water availability in the L.A. area. 

In the executive order issued on Sunday, Trump called on federal agencies to override regulations potentially limiting water availability in the area, such as the Endangered Species Act (ESA), which seeks to minimize water infrastructure to protect certain fish species, such as the Delta smelt. 

The order comes just weeks after Trump accused Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., of caring more about protecting an endangered fish species than the state's residents amid the wildfires.