President Donald Trump detailed his plans to instruct DOGE lead, Elon Musk, to probe the Education and Defense Departments for wasteful spending. The President told Fox News chief political anchor Bret Baier in an exclusive pre-Super Bowl interview that the billionaire entrepreneur has been a trustworthy ally in fulfilling his promise to cut the red tape. 

"He's not gaining anything. In fact, I wonder how he can devote the time to it," Trump said.

"I'm going to tell him very soon… to go check the Department of Education. He's going to find the same thing. Then I'm going to go into the military. Let's check the military. We're going to find billions, hundreds of billions of dollars of fraud and abuse, and the people elected me on that."

MEET THE YOUNG TEAM OF SOFTWARE ENGINEERS SLASHING GOVERNMENT WASTE AT DOGE: REPORT

Baier's interview with Trump, slated to air during a special 3 p.m. time slot on Sunday — mere hours before the Super Bowl LIX coin toss — will focus on the changes the Trump administration has enacted since his inauguration last month and the first 100 days of his presidency.

Among those changes has been implementing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Since Jan. 20, the department aimed at upending federal agencies has traced where money has been going.

The moves have been met with outrage from some Democrats, including a group who attempted to enter the Department of Education in light of possible cuts last week. Thirty House Democrats attempted to enter the Department of Education building in Washington, D.C., on Friday morning to meet with acting Education Secretary Denise L. Carter, but they were stopped by security.

President Donald Trump and Republicans have advocated shutting down the Department of Education, saying that the states are better equipped to handle education. Trump on Tuesday said that if Linda McMahon, his pick for education secretary, is confirmed, she should work to "put herself out of a job."

ELON MUSK OUTLINES ‘SUPER OBVIOUS’ CHANGES DOGE AND TREASURY HAVE AGREED TO MAKE

"The people want me to find it [the wasteful spending]," Trump told Baier.

"And I've had great help with Elon Musk, who's been terrific."

Additional portions of Trump's interview will air during the Monday, February 10th edition of "Special Report with Bret Baier."

Fox News' Rachel Wolf contributed to this report.

Trump border czar Tom Homan delivered a bold message to sanctuary cities trying to stop ICE in its tracks: "We're going to keep coming" no matter what.

"They're not going to stop us," he said Sunday.

"It's less efficient to arrest a bad guy in public where he's hiding from us, and we're trying to arrest him on his turf rather than arrest them in a county jail, which is where we should be arresting them. It takes one agent to arrest the bad guy in the county jail. It takes a whole team to find somebody that doesn't want to be found in the neighborhoods, but we're going to keep doing this until TDA [Tren de Aragua] is eradicated from this country."

BORDER CZAR TOM HOMAN SENDS MESSAGE TO FAR-LEFT OFFICIALS PUSHING BACK AGAINST MASS DEPORTATIONS: ‘GAME ON’

Homan, who has been at the forefront of President Donald Trump's illegal immigration crackdowns, described his number one goal as putting every member of the violent Venezuelan gang on notice across the U.S. 

Since Trump assumed office last month, several TDA members have been apprehended, including an alleged ringleader recently nabbed in the Bronx.

TRUMP BORDER CZAR TOM HOMAN VOWS TO PROBE LEAK THAT STIFLED ICE RAID TARGETING VENEZUELAN GANG IN COLORADO

As the Trump administration moves to relocate members of the gang to the U.S.'s most secure prison – the Guantánamo Bay Detention Camp in Cuba — the Department of Defense (DOD) confirmed the first 10 "high threat" illegal migrant criminal arrivals were all members of TDA.

Homan has insisted that he "will not rest" until the gang is eradicated from U.S. soil. In his on-air warning on Sunday, Homan stressed that such gang members have "no safe haven" from the rule of law. 

"We're going to find them. We're going to arrest them, and take them off the streets," he warned. 

President Trump's decision to "hold Mexico accountable" by invoking a 25% tariff on imports is "exactly right," border czar Tom Homan said Sunday, slamming Mexican officials for failing to take measures to halt the relentless flow of fentanyl coming across the U.S. southern border.

"[Drug cartels have] been operating for decades in Mexico. They're operating freely. We know that, and I'm not going to say every official in Mexico is corrupt, but many are, and we just we simply know that, so he's going to hold Mexico accountable," he told "Sunday Morning Futures" host Maria Bartiromo.

"They've got to take action against these cartels, and stop the flow of fentanyl and, not only that, [but also] the sex trafficking of women and children across the border. It is illegal in Mexico to [sex] traffick women and children, but they're not stopping it. It's illegal for anybody from around the world to transit through Mexico without a transit visa, but they're allowing it."

WHITE HOUSE TO IMPOSE TARIFFS ON MEXICO, CANADA AND CHINA DUE TO ‘INVASION OF ILLEGAL FENTANYL’

Trump imposed 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada on Saturday after pressuring the countries to crack down on the "invasion of illegal fentanyl." 

The administration imposed a 10% tariff on China the same day for sourcing fentanyl that had been distributed in the U.S.

"This is exactly why President Trump has designated the criminal cartels in Mexico as terrorist organizations… I [have] said that… these cartels have killed more Americans than every terrorist organization in the world combined, so President Trump did the right thing. 

TRUMP TREASURY PICK: EXTENDING TRUMP TAX CUTS ‘SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT ECONOMIC ISSUE’

Homan has been at the forefront of the Trump administration's illegal immigration crackdown, spearheading mass deportation efforts in major cities across the U.S. since Trump took office on Jan. 20. 

A former women’s volleyball coach suspended for fighting back against a university's handling of a transgender athlete on the women's team praised President Trump's changes to Title IX on Sunday, calling them "a great first step in the right direction."

"Now we need to continue it, and… the laws [have to] change and the NCAA has to make those changes necessary so that we save women's sports and that we continue to have women's sports," Melissa Batie-Smoose, former San Jose State University volleyball coach, told "Fox & Friends Weekend's" Charlie Hurt.

Batie-Smoose was suspended last year over a Title IX complaint she filed against the school regarding transgender athlete Blaire Fleming, alleging Fleming conspired with an opponent to help the team lose a match and injure teammate Brooke Slusser.

SUSPENDED SAN JOSE STATE COACH EMBROILED IN TRANSGENDER CONTROVERSY SOUNDS ALARM ON WOMEN'S SPORTS

Slusser lamented that her coach's suspension "took away the only safe space we had."

Now Batie-Smoose's contract has expired, and the school is not rehiring her.

"It's just been a long two years and standing up for what's right, and making sure we're continuing to support women and women's sports is what I stood up for and now currently, after 30 years in my career, [I] have been let go," she said Sunday.

SAN JOSE STATE'S BROOKE SLUSSER REACTS TO COACH'S SUSPENSION: ‘THEY TOOK AWAY THE ONLY SAFE SPACE WE HAD’

"The people around them [the girls on the team], were not supporting them. The administration, the athletic department, the head coach were all protecting the male and pretty much gaslighting everybody involved," she added.

"It was a very tough situation for all of them. Very traumatic what they had to go through, and it's unfortunate they have four years to play collegiate volleyball, and their last two years were affected so much and not being able to play some of their matches."

San Jose State was unable to comment on the situation, citing personnel matters.

Fox News' Ryan Gaydos and Claudia Cowan contributed to this report.

A health company CEO explained why she and other mothers nationwide have rallied behind Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and the "MAHA" (Make America Healthy Again) movement, telling Fox News Wednesday that the former presidential candidate's promise of "radical transparency" in the health system is the key selling point to his supporters.

RFK JR. LIKELY TO BE CONFIRMED AS HEALTH SECRETARY, DR. SIEGEL SAYS

"When you have rates of obesity at 74% of adults and then even worse is 38% of children being pre-diabetic, something is wrong and everyone knows it," Caroline Carralero, the founder and CEO of Daily Nouri, a probiotic supplement company focused on achieving optimal gut microbiome health, told "The Story."

With obesity, Carralero highlighted a health crisis that Kennedy has focused on several times in the past.

"I've spent the last 10 years in the food and beverage industry, now leading a company that's focused on gut microbiome health," she told Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum. Carralero explained that her work has allowed her to be in close proximity to a lack of transparency present in the United States' food and health system that Kennedy has repeatedly called out.

RFK Jr., President Donald Trump's nominee for the Department of Health and Human Services, was grilled by Democrats during a three-hour confirmation hearing Wednesday.

SCOOP: TRUMP HHS SECRETARY NOMINEE RFK JR TO STRESS HE'S NOT ‘ANTI-VACCINE’ AT CONFIRMATION HEARING

Verbal jabs from Democrat senators were thrown at Kennedy, with many questioning his position on vaccines. Despite ongoing controversy over his stance on vaccines and other issues, Kennedy has repeatedly stated that he is not "anti-vaccine." He has been outspoken on the need for transparent data and information with regard to not just vaccines, but on a myriad of issues pertaining to American health.

During Kennedy's opening statements, he said, "News reports have claimed that I am anti-vaccine or anti-industry. I am neither. I am pro-safety." The HHS nominee also fired back at Democrat senators for pushing a "dishonest" narrative about him that he says he has repeatedly corrected on national television.

RFK JR RIPS DEM SENATOR FOR PUSHING ‘DISHONEST’ NARRATIVE ON PAST VACCINE COMMENTS: ‘CORRECTED IT MANY TIMES’

Carralero argued that America is standing at a "fork in the road" with regard to health and the wrong decisions could lead the country away from achieving optimal health practices.

"Really what's at stake is American health," she said.

"We can either continue along the path that we've been on, which is to say, continue with the health care system, or as some like to say, the sick care system that we have," she said, highlighting how the American health system is the fastest growing industry in the country with the most "failed" results.

Carralero detailed how Kennedy's mission for health is to get to the "root causes" of the chronic disease epidemic that is affecting children. In order to dig into these root causes, the health and food system in America needs to be "radically transparent."

"That's what's really caught moms' attention and that's what has kind of swept across this grass-roots movement. When you look at what's happened, it's a uni-party movement," said Carralero.

The Daily Nouri CEO argued that many of the moms behind the MAHA movement were Democrats who voted for Trump.

"They were historically voting Democrat and have crossed party lines because they know that their children's health is at stake and everyone knows that something is not right," Carralero said. "It's why we're all very much so in support of RFK Jr., getting confirmed."

Vice President JD Vance said the Trump administration is doing exactly what it said it would with regard to the nationwide U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids targeting migrants who have committed crimes.

Vance told Fox News host Sean Hannity on Wednesday the White House has an "ambitious" goal of getting criminal migrants off the street at a rate of nearly 2,000 per day.

"If you think [about it], we've got 20 plus million illegal aliens in this country. We have got to get these people out of our country and regain control of our own border," he said in a sit-down interview from the nation’s capital on "Hannity." 

The number of migrants arriving at the southern border since Trump took office last week has dropped dramatically by more than 60%.

Data obtained by Fox News Digital shows there were roughly 7,200 migrant encounters in Trump’s first seven days in office, compared to more than 20,000 in former President Biden’s final seven days. 

"I guarantee we're going to cut it even further," Vance said of the more than 60% decrease. "Policy matters. Elections have consequences and President Trump ran explicitly on regaining control of the border and redelivering American prosperity. That's exactly what we're doing."

Migrants are being repatriated to their home countries, including Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Guatemala and Ecuador.

"The take-home message here is, ‘Not today. Not today, not tomorrow, not next week. Do not come to the United States and enter illegally,’" said U.S. Border Patrol Special Operations Supervisor Hamid Nikseresht after more than 80 illegal migrants were loaded onto a C-17 military plane and deported from El Paso, Texas, back to Ecuador.

Vance took aim at the hysteria from the left over the mass deportation efforts, pointing to Trump’s win in November and his "mandate" from the American people.

"Now he's doing it," the former Ohio senator said about Trump’s immigration crackdown. "That's how democratic politics in this country works and thank God for that."

The vice president made a shocking admission about the arrests of criminal migrants, telling Hannity the United States government, in some cases, knew their names and addresses. 

"We just needed to send somebody to go to their house and get them the hell out of the country," Vance said. 

"We've known at least that they had violent criminal backgrounds. And we haven't done anything until about eight days ago when Donald Trump became the President of the United States again. It really should shock the conscience of the American people."

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the United States will "humanely move" criminal migrants out of the country and work with other agencies to secure the southern border in his first interview since he was confirmed last week by the U.S. Senate.

Hegseth, a former "Fox & Friends Weekend" co-host, addressed President Donald Trump’s memorandum to the Departments of Homeland Security (DHS) and Defense (DOD), calling on them to prepare a 30,000-person migrant facility at Guantanamo Bay, a U.S. Naval base in Cuba.

He told Fox News host Will Cain Wednesday that Guantanamo Bay is a "perfect place" to hold criminal migrants "safely in the interim" as the process to repatriate them to their homelands plays out.

BIDEN ADMIN SENDS 11 GUANTANAMO DETAINEES TO OMAN FOR RESETTLEMENT

Guantanamo Bay is most known for being a detention camp that holds terrorism suspects.

Trump said the facility will "detain the worst criminal illegal aliens threatening the American people." 

"Some of them are so bad we don't even trust the countries to hold them because we don't want them coming back, so we're going to send them out to Guantanamo," he told reporters at the White House. 

Hegseth clarified that criminal migrants aren’t being put in camps with "ISIS and other criminals." 

"This is a temporary transit, which is already the mission of naval station Guantanamo Bay, where we can plus up thousands and tens of thousands if necessary, to humanely move illegals out of our country where they do not belong, back to the countries where they came from in proper process," Hegseth said on "The Will Cain Show."

KEY DATES IN THE HISTORY OF THE GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA, DETENTION CENTER

"This is a plan in movement, but not in movement because we're behind, but because we're ramping up for the possibility to expand mass deportations because President Trump is dead serious about getting illegal criminals out of our country," he continued. "And the DOD is not only willing to, it's proud to partner with DHS to defend the sovereignty of our southern border and advance that mission."

The 29th U.S. defense secretary also vowed to make the DOD "color-blind" and "merit-based" so it can return to "the business of fighting and winning wars."

Hegseth added that diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) is "gone" from the military and they’ll continue to rip it out "root and branch."

"We want the best people, regardless of backgrounds, competing for those positions, ready to fight, accountable to their senior leaders. DEI does not do that," he explained. "Not only does it not do it, it undermines it. So, everyone's going to be treated equally based on merit."

Trump border czar Tom Homan demanded an apology from Illinois officials who falsely claimed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents attempted to conduct a raid at a school in late January. 

"Pedro Martinez lied," Homan said on "America Reports," Monday. 

Martinez, the CEO of Chicago Public Schools, said on MSNBC Friday that ICE agents visited an elementary school on the Southwest Side earlier that morning. 

"We had individuals that came to one of our schools, Hamline Elementary School, that presented credentials and shared that they were from ICE," Martinez claimed. "And so our staff followed the protocols. We're very clear. We've been training our principals, our security guards, any front office staff to make sure that they know that we are not to share any information with anybody from the Immigration Department or ICE."

SENIOR DOJ OFFICIAL OVERSEES IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT IN CHICAGO DURING ‘NATIONAL EMERGENCY’

Officials later clarified that it was not ICE, but Secret Service agents at the school who were investigating a threat from TikTok.

"[Martinez] knew they were Secret Service agents because I talked to the people involved," Homan explained. "They left their credentials. He knew exactly who were there. So he lied. Again, sowing fear in the immigrant community."

Homan then turned his criticism to Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, who wrote on X, Friday, "After a week of Republicans sowing fear and chaos, the first reports of raids in Chicago are at an elementary school. Targeting children and separating families is cruel and un-American."

Homan called out Pritzker for failing to find out the truth before turning to social media.

"Governor Pritzker, rather than calling ICE and asking, ‘Did this happen or did it not happen?’ he goes on social media and terrifies elementary schoolers. … He accuses me of terrifying the community. No, he terrified the community. He terrified the children," Homan said. 

"Governor Pritzker needs to give ICE an apology," he continued. "What he did was just plain wrong. And by doing that, he put fear in a community that shouldn't have to be there. Children shouldn't have to fear ICE agents walking into an elementary school to arrest them."

BORDER ENCOUNTERS DROP SHARPLY AS TRUMP LAUNCHES CRACKDOWN ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION

Homan reiterated ICE’s goal of apprehending people in the country illegally who pose a threat to public safety and national security, an issue that President Donald Trump ran on in 2024.

"President Trump won the election on this one issue, securing our border and saving lives. … We're going to do this job, and we're going to enforce the laws of this country. If they don't like it, then go to Congress and change the law."

"We're going to make our community safer," he said. "It's all for the good of this nation. And we're going to keep going. No apologies, we’re moving forward."

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Retired U.S. Army Ranger Rep. Brian Mast praised President Donald Trump's plan to reinstate service members booted for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine with the brush of a pen, signaling an end to the saga that saw thousands expelled during the pandemic. 

"[It's a] great day for patriots, a great day for our service members, my brothers and sisters in arms," the Florida Republican congressman told "Fox & Friends" co-host Steve Doocy.

"Let's not forget… it wasn't just the military. It was other government agencies as well, where they were essentially washing conservatives that were raising their hand, saying, 'I don't want to take this vaccine.'

TRUMP TO REINSTATE SERVICE MEMBERS DISCHARGED FOR NOT GETTING COVID-19 VACCINE

"They were washing them out of government, washing them out of West Point and Naval Academy, Air Force, Coast Guard, Merchant Marine academies, washing them out from being on the next promotion boards for first sergeants, sergeants, majors or officers, and they were creating a system where the ones that were going to be giving promotion to the next classes of individuals were all going to be those that didn't say, 'No, I'm not a conservative, and you know, I'm okay with everything that you're doing right now.' That's what was taking place."

A White House fact sheet detailing the executive order says only 43 of the more than 8,000 service members discharged by the Biden administration and then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin returned to service after the vaccine mandate was repealed in 2023.

The same fact sheet says reinstated troops – both active duty and reserve – will be restored to their prior rank, and will receive back pay and benefits under Trump's order.

RILEY GAINES CELEBRATES REPEAL OF COVID VACCINATION MANDATE FOR LEGAL IMMIGRANTS

Mast introduced legislation in 2023 to require military departments to reinstate individuals upon their request who refused to receive the vaccination.

"It's going to be beautiful [to] have these individuals returning, putting on that uniform, that sense of pride for their family, that they stood up for their causes, what they believed in, and they were rewarded for it. They're returning back to the military," Mast added.

Louisiana Republican Sen. John Kennedy, who also appeared on "Fox & Friends" Monday, lauded Trump for "doing the right thing" by reinstating the troops.

"There were a lot of younger people who said, ‘This is a government vaccine, at least government-funded,’ and they don't completely trust the government, and on principle, they said, 'We don't want to take the vaccine. Dr. Fauci… he made them [take the vaccine]. He tried to establish complete control over everybody. Why did he do that? In my opinion, he was scared," he said. 

"I think we're going to find out [Dr. Fauci] was funding gain of function research in a Chinese lab, and the virus may have gotten out from the lab. Dr. Fauci saw that, and he said, 'Oh my God, I could get blamed for all this, so I'm going to have to establish complete control, so nobody has questions and nobody looks under the seat cushions.' I thought he went too far in terms of mandating the vaccine for everybody."

Signing the executive order will fulfill a promise inauguration attendees heard during Trump's address from the Capitol rotunda last Monday.

Newly-confirmed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth backed the plan during his confirmation hearings before the Senate Armed Services Committee earlier this month.

Fox News' Alex Nitzberg and Peter Doocy contributed to this report.

President Trump is waging war on the diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) philosophy entrenched in various U.S. entities, signing an executive order scaling back the practice as he encourages companies in the public and private sectors to prioritize merit in the workplace.

"It's just enormous, and I think the president is really, really going to make healthcare great again," Dr. Stanley Goldfarb, chairman of the "Do No Harm" nonprofit, told Fox News while addressing the potential changes to the medical industry.

"I think it's going to do three things. It's going to have a huge impact on medical school admissions. First of all, it's going to demand that medical schools now comply with… the Students for Fair Admission, the famous case in the Supreme Court against Harvard and [the University of] North Carolina," he added, referencing the landmark 2023 ruling that barred race-based "affirmative action" admissions practices for most institutions of higher education. 

TRUMP PUTS HIGHER EDUCATION ON NOTICE FOR ‘DANGEROUS, DEMEANING, AND IMMORAL’ DEI TEACHINGS

"The second thing… it's going to have a huge impact on the private sector issues of DEI, so it's going to make medical schools and private medical societies and so on have to comply with the fact that there's going to be no more DEI…," he continued.

"And I think, even as important as it's going to be in medical school admissions, it's going to be issuing changes in the contracting and grant-making that the federal government does. Most medical schools and health care systems are incredibly dependent on the federal government for their grants and contracts and this executive order says [there will be] no more of that activity going on in these grant-making activities."

Goldfarb has sounded the alarm over DEI in medicine for some time, leading "Do No Harm," which, in the group's words, protects healthcare professionals from the "disastrous consequences" of identity politics.

TRUMP VOWS 'NEW ERA OF NATIONAL SUCCESS,' SAYS AMERICA'S 'DECLINE IS OVER' IN INAUGURAL ADDRESS

Trump's onslaught against DEI mandates also saw all federal DEI workers placed on paid administrative leave with their offices shuttered on Wednesday. 

The change comes as a swath of private companies like Walmart, McDonald's, Ford and Meta have announced their own plans to scale back or eliminate DEI initiatives. 

Fox News' Lindsay Kornick contributed to this report.

With less than two days until President-elect Donald Trump returns to office, incoming "border czar" Tom Homan shared a glimpse of the administration's deportation plans to tackle the border crisis and illegal immigration. 

The incoming Trump administration is eyeing immigration arrests of illegal immigrants across the country as soon as day one, as top officials say they are ready to "take the handcuffs off" Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

"They're going to be targeted enforcement operations," Homan said on "Fox News Live" on Saturday. 

"When ICE goes out, they're going to know exactly who they're looking for, pretty much where they'll find them. It's a well-planned operation. They'll know possibly who's in the household, including children. This is a well-planned enforcement operation."

TRUMP DETAILS STRATEGY TO GET NECESSARY VOTES WITH ONE-BILL APPROACH TO BORDER, TAXES

The Wall Street Journal reported that the administration is planning a large-scale raid in Chicago on Tuesday, targeting those with criminal backgrounds in particular.

"President Trump has been clear from day one, from the campaign on to today, that he's going to secure the border and he's going to have the deportation operation. There has to be consequences for violating our laws," Homan told host Mike Emanuel.

"President Trump's had it. He has no patience. We're going to start this operation. We're going to fulfill the mandate the American people gave him."

BLUE STATE GOV CHANGES TUNE AFTER VOWING TO FIGHT TRUMP DEPORTATION EFFORTS, NOW HOPES HE FIXES BORDER

The administration has promised a mass deportation operation, as well as increased border security. Officials have said they intend to target those with criminal histories and convictions, but have also stressed that they will potentially arrest anyone in the United States illegally. There are currently more than 7 million individuals on ICE's non-detained docket.

"We're going to get back to the most secure border in my lifetime that President Trump had during his first administration, but this time, we're going to finish the job. When you secure the border, you save lives," Homan argued.

Homan also addressed expected pushback from "sanctuary" cities that refuse to allow state and local law enforcement to honor ICE detainers — requests that ICE be notified when illegal immigrants in custody are being released.

"How many young women have to be raped and murdered and burned alive until the sanctuary cities understand this? It's about public safety," Homan said. "Every elected official, whether you're a mayor or a governor or on the city council, your number-one responsibility is to protect your own community. Help us. Come to the table and help us. We're not asking you to be immigration officers. We're asking to help make your communities safer by those who are here illegally."

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Fox News Digital's Adam Shaw contributed to this report. 

Former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines slammed Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., for her "disheartening" tirade on the House floor criticizing Republicans for passing a bill aimed at banning biological males from female sports. 

Gaines accused Democrats of holding a "theatrical performance" against the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act after it passed on Tuesday. She dispelled far-left myths about the future of sports eligibility during "Fox & Friends."

TRANSGENDER BILL BARRING MEN FROM WOMEN'S SPORTS TO GET FLOOR VOTE IN NEWLY GOP-LED SENATE

"If she spent two seconds reading the bill, she would know this… has nothing to do with genital inspections. This has nothing to do with any sort of anatomical examination," Gaines told host Lawrence Jones on Wednesday. "This resorts to birth certificates and a routine physical which every athlete already has to complete to be able to play their sport anyway."

"So to watch the theatrical performance, which that's exactly what it was, from pretty much all of the Democrats on the House floor, it was disheartening," she continued. "And to continue to see them tout about women's rights, and she mentions the Violence Against Women Act... Do we remember how AOC voted on the Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act? Because she voted in opposition."

Every Republican representative voted in favor of the bill, but only two Democrats, Reps. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, and Vicente Gonzales, D-Texas, voted to pass it. The remaining 206 House Democrats all voted against. Rep. Don Davis, D-N.C., voted "present."

Ocasio-Cortez slammed Republicans over the legislation, arguing young girls would be subject to genital examinations, a claim that Republicans claim is entirely false. 

"Republicans who have voted against, consistently, against the Violence Against Women Act now want to pretend today that they care about women. And why? To open up gender and, yes, genital examinations into little girls in this country in the so-called name of attacking trans girls," she said. "Trans girls are girls"

TRANS VOLLEYBALL PLAYER ACCUSED OF PLAN TO HARM TEAMMATE AFTER TAKING SCHOLARSHIPS FROM FEMALE PLAYERS

The bill, if it passes the Senate and is signed into law, would ban schools from allowing biological males from competing in female sports. 

Athletes would need to compete in sports teams that coincide with the gender on the individual's birth certificate. Any schools that fail to comply with the rule would lose their federal funding. 

It would apply to all federally funded schools from kindergarten through high school, as well as colleges and universities that receive federal dollars.

Despite far-left scrutiny against the legislation, Gaines insisted the issue of protecting women and girls' sports is anything but partisan. 

"Apparently November 5th taught the Democrats nothing," Gaines said. "I was curious going into this. Will we see people double down like we saw from AOC, or will we see people start to slowly recant from their position?"

Several Democrats spoke out against their own party's laser focus on inclusivity and progressivism recently, arguing that the far-left did not leave any room for dissent on issues like transgender athletes.

Gaines pointed to Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., who previously said on the record he did not support males competing in female sports. Despite his initial opposition, he did not vote in favor of the bill, and neither did Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., who also voiced concerns. 

"He [Moulton] went on the news, and he said, 'We've become too radical as a party. I have daughters. I don't want my daughters on the court or on the field with boys,' but even Congressman Moulton was pressured into voting in opposition of the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act," Gaines said. 

"But that tells you something," she continued. "It tells you that more than a party, what the Democrats are… is truthfully, they're a cult."

Fox News' Elizabeth Elkind and Jackson Thompson contributed to this report. 

Western North Carolina families left without homes after Hurricane Helene swept through the Appalachian Mountain region last year received some devastating news earlier this month — their temporary FEMA housing assistance could soon come to an end, leaving them with nowhere to turn as temperatures dip below freezing. 

The agency began notifying some families checked into hotel or motel rooms that they are no longer eligible for the Transitional Sheltering Assistance Program due to one of the following reasons: an inspection indicated their home is habitable, they declined an inspection or FEMA has been unable to contact them to update their housing needs.

The deadline, initially Friday, now sits on Jan. 14. FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell says those who receive the notification who are still in need of housing are still eligible, but they need to contact the agency.

"There's a number of reasons why somebody might have received that notification," Criswell explained Sunday. 

TWO HURRICANE HELENE VICTIMS, A FAMILY OF FOUR AND A VIETNAM VETERAN GIFTED CAMPERS ON CHRISTMAS DAY

"What we do is we call everybody. We call them every two weeks to check in on where they're at, what their status is, and is their home able to be occupied again, but one of the biggest things is when we call them, if we don't hear from them, the only thing we can do is assume that they've been back in their home. One of the things I want to make sure, if somebody has received that notification, but they haven't talked to somebody at FEMA and their situation is still in need, they are still eligible. We just need them to get in touch with us so we can talk to them. Everybody's going to have a unique circumstance. Everybody's going to have a unique situation," she added. 

"We need to work with them all individually to make sure we're getting them the right resources so they can continue to stay in a safe place until their home is either rebuilt or it's accessible."

North Carolina residents still needing assistance can contact 1-800-621-FEMA or visit a disaster recovery center to speak to someone face-to-face. 

EVERY THING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE WATER DROPS IN CALIFORNIA DURING WILDFIRES

Already strained by the crisis left in Helene's wake, FEMA must now also address the needs of families displaced by southern California wildfires, which continue to burn after creating billions of dollars worth of damage. 

Criswell told Fox News' Shannon Bream that California residents needing assistance should register at disasterassistance.gov and contact their personal insurance company to see what they will cover. 

"But more importantly, [what they will] not cover so they can be eligible for different programs within our system," she added.

Fox News' Audrey Conklin and Brooke Singman contributed to this report. 

The focus on President-elect Donald Trump's vow to pardon Jan. 6 protesters is sharpening, with his return to the White House just eight days away. 

Vice President-elect JD Vance — who, like Trump, has been critical of a justice system allegedly weaponized against the protesters — laid out how their offenses might be weighed when considering the pardons.

"If you protested peacefully on January 6th, and you've had Merrick Garland's Department of Justice treat you like a gang member, you should be pardoned," Vance told Fox News' Shannon Bream during an exclusive one-on-one interview that aired Sunday. 

"If you committed violence on that day, obviously you shouldn't be pardoned, and there's a little bit of a gray area there, but we're very much committed to seeing the equal administration of law. And there are a lot of people, we think, in the wake of January the 6th who were prosecuted unfairly. We need to rectify that."

TRUMP ASKS ABOUT ‘J-6 HOSTAGES’ IN RESPONSE TO BIDEN'S PARDON OF HUNTER: ‘SUCH AN ABUSE’

Trump previously pledged to pardon Jan. 6 protesters on day one of his incoming administration, telling NBC's Kristen Welker last month that people on the Jan. 6 committee in Congress belonged in jail instead.

"I’m going to look at everything. We’ll look at individual cases," Trump told Welker as he spelled out his plans. "But I’m going to be acting very quickly."

CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES: ESSENTIAL PHONE NUMBERS FOR LOS ANGELES-AREA RESIDENTS AND HOW YOU CAN HELP THEM

The incoming administration faces a slew of challenges ranging from the border crisis to hostages in the Middle East to domestic disaster relief once all members are sworn in.

Relentless wildfires tearing through southern California are but one of the issues Trump's administration will have to address. With a rift growing between Trump and state Democratic officials, the intended path forward seems unclear.

"President Trump is committed to doing a better job when it comes to disaster relief. That's true for the hurricane victims and flood victims in North Carolina. It's true for the fire victims in California. We just have to do a better job. We need competent, good governance," Vance said. 

"That doesn't mean you can't criticize the governor of California for, I think, some very bad decisions over a very long period of time. Some of these reservoirs have been dry for 15, 20 years. The fire hydrants are being reported as going dry while the firefighters are trying to put out these fires. There is a serious lack of competent governance in California, and I think it's part of the reason why these fires have gotten so bad. We need to do a better job at both the state and federal level."

Newsom's press office, meanwhile, addressed Trump's previous remarks that criticized the governor for allegedly mismanaging the water supply, with an X post, stating, "LADWP said that because of the high water demand, pump stations at lower elevations did not have enough pressure refill tanks at higher elevations, and the ongoing fire hampered the ability of crews to access the pumps."

It added, "Broadly speaking, there is no water shortage in Southern California right now, despite Trump's claims that he would open some imaginary spigot."

Fox News' Hanna Panreck and Gabriel Hays contributed to this report.

A California family's unshaken faith emerged in the form of a lone statue of The Virgin Mary — untouched by the relentless flames of southern California's wildfires — her resilience amid the smoldering ruins leading them to sing in praise.

"It was remarkable how everything had gotten fried, but the statue of The Virgin Mary and another statue of Saint Joseph were in perfect condition," Peter Halpin, the family patriarch, told 'Fox & Friends Weekend' on Sunday. 

"Obviously, they were a little singed, but we just took that opportunity to pray," he continued. "Our home is dedicated to the sacred heart of Jesus and always has been and all my family members, my extended family, so we said a prayer to the sacred heart of Jesus, and then we sang that special song that our entire family has known for decades to The Blessed Virgin, and it was a remarkable thing."

POWER GRID FAULTS SURGED RIGHT BEFORE LOS ANGELES WILDFIRES BEGAN: EXPERT

According to Halpin, the family "broke the law" by visiting what remained of their home of 37 years last week. When they discovered that the deadly Eaton fire had diminished the rest to rubble, they leaned on faith, singing in praise alongside their six children and other loved ones in a since-viral video posted to Instagram.

"Our intention was not for this thing to go viral at all," he continued. "It was pretty much just a family thing, but the response from the community has been unbelievable and so heartfelt."

Peter's wife Jackie said she fell to her knees in emotion after her son-in-law snuck up to the site of the home the day before, snapping a photo that revealed the statue was still standing.

She knew then they had to make their own pilgrimage to the site to thank God for the years they spent there.

CALIFORNIANS ‘ANGRY’ AMID DEVASTATING WILDFIRES, ASKING WHERE HIGH TAX DOLLARS WENT: LOCAL RESEARCHER

"That was my intention," she said. "We're going to pray. We're going to thank God that we're safe, and we have entertained a lot for years. We feel very strongly in the virtue of hospitality, so I just wanted to pray and say, ‘If we can do it again, that would be great.’ 

"The song [in the video] kind of came about on its own, so I just wanted to pray. I just want to be grateful as much as I can for what we've had."

Wildfires continue to tear through southern California with no end in sight, devastating communities and claiming 16 lives so far. 

Filmmaker and former "Family Ties" star Justine Bateman ripped Los Angeles County officials for their apparent mismanagement and lack of preparedness for the wildfires still ripping through parts of the city.

"I'm pretty pissed, and I think a lot of people in Los Angeles are pissed," Bateman told "Jesse Watters Primetime" Thursday, insisting that city leaders should be better at handling these types of situations.

CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES DEVASTATE LOS ANGELES COUNTY, DESTROYING THOUSANDS OF HOMES

The Palisades Fire, Eaton Fire, Hurst Fire, Lidia Fire and the Sunset Fire have ravaged LA County. As of Friday, officials had reported that the death toll was at least 11 and the fires had burned more than 36,000 acres and destroyed over 10,000 structures.

"If you are going to run a city or run a state, you have to take care of the basics, and that's to make sure that your fire and your police department are well-funded," the filmmaker said, stressing the importance of having "rehearsed" planning in place to hopefully minimize the consequences of natural disasters. For California, that includes wildfires, earthquakes, heavy rain and consequent mudslides.

Bateman argued California's elected officials are ‘’incapable'' of planning for these major events, saying they are "useless" if they are not doing everything in their power to tackle disasters before they occur.

"If you can't cover the basics, get out of our city. You are useless to us. You are a liability and you have destroyed people's lives because you didn't do your job," she said. "You didn't do what you were hired for. You didn't do what we pay you for." Bateman added officials should "resign out of shame and responsibility for the people whose lives you've destroyed right now."

California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass have received major backlash over their handling of the rampant fires. One resident was caught on video confronting Newsom, demanding "tell me what you're going to do" regarding fire preparations and recovery efforts.

On whether Newsom or Bass knew they were "incompetent," Bateman argued that people that are incapable "don't understand" they're incompetent.

She acknowledged the "incredibly unusual" windy weather that swept through the LA area, causing further inferno and added difficulty for firefighters working to extinguish the flames.

CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES: POLICE SHOOT DOWN CELEBRITIES FLOATING ARSON THEORIES

"If you know what's coming, you make sure that you are prepared for what might occur. And they weren't," Bateman said.

To prevent further catastrophic damage from natural disasters in the future, Bateman stressed how voters need to approach elected officials.

"Stop looking for the ‘R’ and the ‘D’ next to these names. Just stop it. You need to look at the person. Do you think this person can do the job?," she said, highlighting how Californians have predominantly voted based off of the "D's" in the past. 

ESSENTIAL PHONE NUMBERS FOR LOS ANGELES-AREA RESIDENTS AND HOW YOU CAN HELP THEM

"We have voted in people who are not competent to handle these things. If somebody is competent and they've shown their competence, and they have a ‘D' next to them, fine, vote for them. If they have an ‘R’ next to their name, who cares, vote for them. Vote for somebody you think can do this job," she said.

Bateman explained that when looking for a plumber, housekeeper, somebody to fix your car, or anyone you're getting a service from, you are looking at their "ratings" and not their political affiliations.

"You're asking other people who have had experience with them, do they do a good job? Please do that with the politicians, please. Or you see the results of it," she continued. 

Bateman expressed further concern over Los Angeles being able to host the 2028 Olympics with the current leadership's "inability to adequately prepare."

"If people want something to pray for, here's what you pray for. Pray that we don't have an earthquake in Los Angeles while these two people, Newsom and Bass, are in charge. Pray that we don't have an earthquake, because they will not be able to handle that," she said.

JESSE WATTERS: So, as you see, I'm back from assignment and I'm not really allowed to tell you where I was. And if any of you ever find out. Don't tell anyone, because I'll get in trouble. So let's go to D.C. where a big fight erupted today before Congress certified the election. 

Pretty much the same thing as January 6th, four years ago. Just some minor differences. This just moments before Congress certified Trump's victory. CNN says today marks the most stunning comeback in U.S. political history. And of all people, Kamala Harris was the one who made it official. 

…

Trump called today a big moment in history, and it's also the end of an era, the Obama era. A Democratic strategist says you can just smell it in the air. A deep sense of betrayal among Democrat voters and an underlying realization that the Democratic Party's politburo sold voters a bill of goods.

The gaslighting of the public on Biden's decrepitude, the false idol of the Kamala Harris's campaign of joy and the repeated cowering to the far left. Even Chuck Schumer says Democrats lost their mind. 

The family of one 9/11 victim accused the Biden administration of reversing course on plea deals for alleged 9/11 masterminds for political purposes after a military court judge ruled Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin cannot rescind the offers. 

President of 9/11 Justice Brett Eagleson reacted to the news during "Fox & Friends Weekend," calling the situation a "horrific travesty" as families remain outraged over the fact the death penalty could be removed as punishment for the suspected perpetrators. 

JUDGE RESTORES CONTROVERSIAL 9/11 TERRORIST PLEA DEALS INVOLVING KHALID SHEIKH MOHAMMED: REPORT

Brett Eagleson: It was a politically motivated decision to rescind it. We think that they knew all along that there was no way to do it, but in the heat of the election, in the lead up to November, they were utterly called out on the carpet for a horrific decision. Look, I haven't heard from a single 9/11 family member that thinks this is a good idea, and the reality here is that everything about 9/11, everything about this 23-year national nightmare that we've had to contend with, has been a horrific travesty from the days after 9/11. 

When the U.S. government worked with Saudi Arabia to cover up the Saudi Arabian role, to the time we sent 5,000 or 6,000 of our troops to be slaughtered in Iraq for no reason, to the very fact that Congress just denied the benefits for the first responders, now this… where we're getting these terrorist sweetheart cupcake deals. We've been kicked in the gut time and time again, and we're sick of it, and we are so hopeful that we finally have a president who's going to do the right thing here… One thing I want to point out is that on 9/11 this year, when VP Harris and Biden sat behind the red rope at the 9/11 World Trade Center Memorial, President Trump was… in a New York City firehouse. He was there with me, and I got a chance to talk to him. 

And we said to him, ‘Mr. President, you were right in 2016 when you said it was Saudi Arabia that knocked down those towers.’ He said it on this very show on ‘Fox and Friends.’ We said, Mr. President, we had to get the information not from the U.S. government, about Saudi Arabia's role, we had to get it from the British government. We said, ‘Mr. President, the same people who tried to take you down in Russia, Russia, Russia, Bob Mueller and the deep state of this country are the same people who have blocked justice for us. They’re the same people that came up with these horrible plea deals, would you do something to help us?' And he committed to us that day in a New York City firehouse on 9/11 that if he were elected president, he was going to do the right thing. He said he could deal with Saudi Arabia, and he was going to bring us final justice and closure, and we're going to hold them to account on that. And we're very hopeful. This is a new start for America. We have a Republican-controlled Congress, we have a president in the office who puts America first. So, let's hope that he really, truly does that.

LOVED ONES OF 9/11 VICTIMS REACT TO TERROR DEFENDANT PLEA DEAL: 'LIFETIME OF PAIN AND SUFFERING'

Eagleson, who is the son of a 9/11 victim, was outraged by the decision, like many other family members, and is asking for more to be done. The plea deals would allow the three men accused of plotting the 9/11 attacks to plead guilty in exchange for being spared the death penalty. 

The court opinion, which has not been formally published yet, said the plea deals reached by military prosecutors and defense attorneys were valid and enforceable, and that Austin exceeded his authority when he later tried to nullify them.

The Pentagon has the option of going next to the D.C. Circuit federal appeals court for emergency review, but the court docket did not show any filings as of Tuesday afternoon.

A hearing is scheduled next week at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where Mohammad and two other defendants could plead guilty in separate hearings, with the death penalty removed as a possible punishment.

The plea deals in the long-running case against the terrorists were struck over the summer and approved by the top official of the Gitmo military commission.

Fox News' Bill Mears and Danielle Wallce contributed to this report. 

Newly re-elected House Speaker Mike Johnson is determined to push President-elect Donald Trump's agenda forward as he reveals how the president-elect wants Congress to handle the reconciliation debacle.

"I think at the end of the day, President Trump is going to prefer, as he likes to say, one big, beautiful bill," Johnson admitted to "Sunday Morning Futures" host Maria Bartiromo.

The speaker went on to add that he’s talked to the president-elect extensively over the last few months, trying to determine "the pros and cons of the two different strategies," one reconciliation bill or a "skinny reconciliation bill."

"There’s a lot of merit to that [one reconciliation bill] because we can put it all together, one big up or down vote, which can save the country quite literally, because there are so many elements to it," Johnson said.

MAJORITY OF AMERICANS OPTIMISTIC ABOUT TRUMP AGENDA, POLL FINDS, DESPITE TARIFF CONCERN

"It’ll give us a little bit more time to negotiate that and get it right," he continued.

Johnson expressed that one reconciliation bill will "have a lot of pieces" and address a lot of the concerns Americans voiced during the election, such as securing the border and economy. 

In order to "revive the U.S. economy," Speaker Johnson stressed the importance of "preventing the largest tax increase in U.S. history," warning that it could happen automatically at the end of next year if Congress doesn’t get its "ducks in a row."

As important as they are, tax cuts aren’t the only priority for the House GOP as they look to assist Trump in getting the country’s economy back on track.

HOUSE VOTES FOR RULES TO MAKE OUSTING A SPEAKER MORE DIFFICULT

Johnson explained that Republicans want to "incentivize" American companies to manufacture in the U.S., dismantle the "regulatory burden" and red tape that’s "smothering" the free market, root out the "deep state" and restore American energy dominance.

"So a lot of moving pieces, a lot of things to negotiate, a lot of opinions on all that. So, we’ll be working long, long hours with whiteboards, making sure every Republican is on board," he said.

Though the speaker will be working with the "smallest margin in U.S. history" for the first hundred days, he's confident that Republicans will deliver for the American people.

When asked about the timeline for one reconciliation bill, Johnson said it could be on President Trump’s desk by May or as soon as April 3 if everything moves in the "right sequence."

"We’ve made a lot of campaign promises. President Trump did as well and reconciliation is the way to get it done," he explained.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Thursday the United States won’t allow an "atmosphere of fear" to prevail after a deadly terror attack in New Orleans on Wednesday killed 14 people and injured dozens more.

The attack suspect, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, was an Army veteran and U.S. citizen from Texas who was killed by police in the early morning hours of the new year after driving a truck into a crowd of holiday revelers.

"This does appear to be an individual, a U.S. citizen, radicalized to violence by a foreign terrorist ideology, specifically the ISIS ideology," said Mayorkas on "Your World." "This is a phenomenon, a phenomenon of homegrown violent extremists that we have seen develop and emerge over the past ten years."

Officials said an ISIS flag was recovered from the Ford pickup truck Jabbar used to mow down people in the French Quarter.

Christopher Raia, the deputy assistant director of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division, said in a press conference Thursday that Jabbar posted videos online as he drove from Houston to New Orleans proclaiming his support for ISIS. 

"This investigation is only a little more than 24 hours old, and we have no indication at this point that anyone else was involved in this attack other than Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar," said Raia.

WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT VICTIMS OF NEW ORLEANS TERRORIST ATTACK

Mayorkas said ISIS’ goal is to have Americans "live in fear" but American democracy and its way of life "must prevail."

"We will continue to enjoy and flourish in our democratic way of life and not allow an atmosphere of fear to prevail and therefore have ISIS's goal succeed. We will not allow that to occur," he told Fox News anchor Sandra Smith.

Smith pressed Mayorkas on the number of terror watchlist encounters at the southern border under the Biden administration and why more wasn’t done earlier on to curb the number of people illegally crossing into the country.

NEW ORLEANS TERROR SUSPECT'S BROTHER SAYS ATTACK IS SIGN OF ‘RADICALIZATION': REPORT

Mayorkas said the men and women of U.S. law enforcement work daily to "ensure the safety and security of the American people" and screen individuals who pose a threat to public safety and national security. 

"Whatever the nature of the threat, those who pose a threat to the American people are our highest priority for law enforcement action as our laws provide. And we enforce and execute those laws every single day," he added.