Politics

(WASHINGTON) — As Republicans senators returned to Washington after Thanksgiving recess to a renewed peppering of questions about President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks, a familiar refrain emerged: trust the confirmation process.

“That’s why we’re going to take the normal process, vet all the nominees, and give everybody a chance to ask those questions during a hearing,” Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said when asked about new allegations concerning Pete Hegseth, Trump’s choice for defense secretary.

“That is why our process is so important,” Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said when asked about the controversial reports surrounding Hegseth.

“The president is allowed to have his appointees who we will have to see,” Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., said when asked about Kash Patel, Trump’s nominee to lead the FBI. “I don’t know Kash Patel, we have to have him go through the process.”

“Like all the other nominees, he’ll get a process and a confirmation hearing and vetting and everything else. They’ll all have to through it, and we’ll see where the process takes us,” incoming Senate Republican Leader John Thune said about Patel.

The responses fell short of glowing endorsements for some of Trump’s nominees. And even as many Republicans call for regular processes to be followed as these nominations are considered, there remains at least one discrepancy on what a normal order process would look like.

Senators torn over FBI background checks

Though vetting of nominations has traditionally included an FBI background check, Republican senators are torn on whether one is 100% necessary for confirmation.

Thune told ABC News the issue over background checks will hopefully be “resolved.” While noting that there are “other alternatives” for getting information, Thune said that FBI background checks are “historically” the best way.

“I think, hopefully at some point they’ll get this background check issue resolved. At this point I’m not sure exactly how it’s going to be resolved but I think they will. I think the administration understands there’s got to be a thorough vetting of all of these noms,” Thune said. “And that, you know, historically, the best place to get that done has been through the FBI. They have other alternatives, you know, obviously, I assume our committee chairman will just want to make sure that they’ve got the background that they need to carefully evaluate these noms.”

Sen. Roger Wicker, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee that will be responsible for managing Hegseth’s nomination, told ABC News the panel is “looking at the way its been done traditionally and getting information about that as to who actually orders the FBI background check.”

But when pushed on whether he would want to see an FBI background check, he said he would.

“I would prefer a full background check, yes,” Wicker said.

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said he believes there will be background checks and he’d like to see them.

“My preference would be an FBI background check, and I’m not, I don’t know that we won’t have FBI background checks. I know that we have really good staffs and really good investigators, and they work closely with the FBI, so I’m not worried at all about — about not having background checks done on — not just these nominees, but any nominees by a president. I think that’s a false issue,” Kennedy said.

Some senators kept their cards close on this issue.

Cornyn ignored questions on whether he’d want to see a FBI background check for nominees like Patel.

But others are prepared to follow Trump’s lead.

“My position is what President Trump decides to do is what I will support,” Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, said.

Lawmakers react to Kash Patel’s nomination

No Republican senator flatly rejected Patel as Trump’s choice to lead the Department of Justice, though many said they’ll wait for Patel to move through the Senate Judiciary Committee before making a decision on him.

But ultimately, for Patel to be installed, current FBI Director Chris Wray would need to be fired or step down.

There appears to be a general sense among Republicans that they would be okay with Wray being forced out.

“I am, I am,” Capito said when asked if she would be comfortable with Trump removing Wray to install Patel.

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, said she likes Patel, and added that the FBI needs someone new to “go in and clean it up.”

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., said it is reasonable for Trump to want to put in place someone he is comfortable with after his experiences during his first administration and in the years that followed.

“Think about what this guy has gone through, he’s had his house raided, he’s been indicted, so I think he’s probably in a position that you know, and then think about it in his first term, he had a special prosecutor, so I think he probably wants somebody that he knows is going to be loyal,” Scott said.

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(WASHINGTON) — The Democratic National Committee is hoping to highlight down-ballot successes last month as it hosts a key post-election meeting and looks to turn the page from its stinging White House loss.

DNC Chair Jaime Harrison wrote in a grassroots memo obtained first by ABC News that while Democrats fell short in the presidential race, beefy and historic investments in down-ballot contests offer a roadmap to success. The party was able to salvage four Senate races in states President-elect Donald Trump won and gain House seats despite headwinds at the top of the ticket.

“As we reflect on the cycle and take stock of where we fell short, it’s equally important to assess what worked. Data shows that the work of the DNC and our partners was effective in beating back what could have been a larger red wave,” Harrison wrote.

“In 2024, the DNC made strategic campaign grants in every state party for the first time in history, and delivered record-breaking investments directly to coordinated campaigns in every state — totaling over $264 million,” he added. “These investments yielded results and underscore the importance of continued state party investment…”

The memo marks the first public, thorough dissection by the DNC of the election results, in which Vice President Kamala Harris lost to Trump and Republicans flipped the Senate and kept the House of Representatives.

The document paints a rosy portrait of a party that failed to keep the White House but won Senate races in Trump-won states like Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, and Wisconsin, key House races in California and New York, and won a gubernatorial race in North Carolina, a state that has been a white whale for Democrats at the federal level.

Harrison specifically writes that despite the disappointments, Trump was kept below 50% in the popular vote (he still won it), Democrats held Senate seats in states Trump won and cut into Republicans’ House margin, and the party was successful in breaking some GOP state legislative majorities and holding on in certain chambers, including its one-seat majority in the Pennsylvania state House.

The memo highlights DNC efforts in all those cases, including voter registration efforts, investments in key demographic groups in Senate races, efforts in New York and California to boost prospects in key House races there and money sent to traditionally noncompetitive states like Alaska and Arkansas to make state legislative gains.

“Notable down-ballot wins in 2024 provide us with a roadmap on what works and where investments mattered most,” Harrison wrote.

The memo is being released at the start of a meeting of the Association of State Democratic Committees, where state party leaders will gather to discuss what went right and wrong in November.

The election is sparking a crowded race to lead the DNC, with Harrison not running for reelection as chair, and a broader party reckoning over its identity and whether it should be more centrist, populist, progressive or some combination of the three.

In an interview, Harrison conceded the election was a “mixed bag.”

“Of course, we lost the most important election on that ticket, the presidential election, and I’m heartbroken over that,” he said.

“But then when we start to look underneath that race and look into the battleground states, and what happened in other races, it’s, again, a mixed bag. Donald Trump didn’t have the coattails. It was not this landslide vote that many people wanted to say that it was on Election Day because Democrats still won in many of those battleground states.”

Harrison cited several reasons behind the “mixed” results.

On the one hand, Harris faced a historically short runway after President Joe Biden left the race in July, combined with economic headwinds and a liberal media ecosystem that still struggles to match Republican heavyweights like Fox News. Trump, Harrison said, had emerged as a “cultural” figure over the course of nine years who was able to put together an expansive coalition.

“I think time definitely was a part of it,” Harrison said. “I thought that she was going to be become sort of a cultural figure. Just seeing the early energy, I need to tell you, man, just that convention alone, I felt like there was something turning. But it didn’t go full circle. And that’s something that we got to figure out. Why not? Did we change the message? What did we do in order not to have it go full circle?”

“I don’t know if we need to find our own Joe Rogan [the influential podcaster who interviewed then endorsed Trump days before the election], and I’ve heard that from a number of folks, but I think we need to make sure that we’re in in all those spaces,” he added of whether Democrats need to expand their media strategy in traditional and non-traditional outlets.

Still, Harrison found positive signs in a state party infrastructure that Democrats had worked hard to revive after years of atrophy in recent years.

“We got to continue those investments. We can’t go back to the post-Obama years in which we minimized the amount of resources that the DNC sent to state parties,” he said. “We are still trying to work our way back from that point in time. So, now, it’s about focusing on continuing moving forward.”

Still, the meeting isn’t taking place in a vacuum, and the present could get in the way of discussions about the future.

Biden dropped a bombshell Sunday night when he announced that he was pardoning his son, Hunter, leading to a flood of Democratic criticism Monday over his intervention in Justice Department proceedings.

However, Harrison said he believed that the ASDC meeting would stay on track.

“The president is a good man, he’s a decent man, he’s a just person, and he always tries to do the best thing, and this is, I believe, the best thing at this point in time,” Harrison said. “Almost to a person, the Democrats that I’ve talked to, grassroots activists, Democrats, are leading. This won’t consume that.”

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(WASHINGTON) — Ever since Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was picked by President-elect Donald Trump to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, he has been vocal about his plans to “Make America Healthy Again.”

Kennedy has vowed to crack down on dyes in the food industry and to reduce pesticides in the farm and agriculture industry.

He has called for restrictions on ultra-processed foods as part of an initiative to address the high rates of chronic disease in the United States, and he’s said more research needs to be conducted on vaccines.

Those plans could require him to override regulations set in place by the Food and Drug Administration or Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, and/or perhaps see new regulations put in place.

Political science experts say this may put him at odds with members of his own party, because Republicans typically advocate for fewer regulations and limited government oversight.

“I think where you would see the challenges would be on allocation of money,” Shana Gadarian, a professor of political science at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University in New York, told ABC News.

“If all of a sudden HHS is now in the business of passing more regulations on the food industry, on agriculture, we might see that a Republican Senate majority and a Republican House is less interested in allocating a budget to HHS that then would be under a different leadership,” she continued.

Praise from other Republicans

Despite Republican criticism of previous Democratic initiatives to tackle disease and childhood obesity, Kennedy has received praise from some Republicans.

“RFK Jr. has championed issues like healthy foods and the need for greater transparency in our public health infrastructure,” Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Republican from Louisiana, said in a statement earlier this month. “I look forward to learning more about his other policy positions and how they will support a conservative, pro-American agenda.”

Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin called Kennedy a “brilliant, courageous truth-teller whose unwavering commitment to transparency will make America a healthier nation,” and Sen. Josh Hawley called Trump’s decision to name him to head the HHS a “Bad day for Big Pharma!”

However, Gadarian said the support from some Republicans in the Senate may not translate to support among Republican constituents.

“We may want to separate what average people think about and know about [what Kennedy wants] and what elites in the party might have a vested interest in,” Gadarian said.

For farmers and others whose bottom lines might be negatively impacted by some of Kennedy’s proposed top-down policies, she said, “Those ideas of, like, removing pesticides from agriculture may actually be quite unpopular.”

Republicans’ distaste for regulation

Historically, the Republican party has been ideologically associated with a smaller, limited federal government.

During his January 1981 inaugural address, President Ronald Reagan stated, “Government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem,” espousing the belief that the government should not intervene in American lives.

If Kennedy is confirmed, there may be some culling of regulations, such as the CDC decision on vaccines health insurers are required to cover, according to Gadarian.

But his confirmation may also lead to new regulations; for example, he might weigh in on which food dyes companies are allowed to use or the use of pesticides on farms.

While it isn’t yet fully clear how Kennedy could make all of his proposed changes directly through his leadership at HHS, as opposed to the Environmental Protection Agency or Department of Agriculture, he has called for restrictions on food additives, dyes and ultra-processed foods — which he could have direct influence over through the FDA.

Gadarian said this is not in line with the typical conservative view on regulations, which is to generally loosen them.

“I do think that increasing regulation on businesses like agriculture and others who use pesticides — or on the food industry — is, in fact, against a kind of idea of limited government, of loosening regulation so businesses can do business and not be encumbered by the federal government,” she said.

Robert Ravens-Seager, a professor of history and political science at American International College in Massachusetts, said he thinks the idea of Republicans being for “small” or “limited government” is a myth.

He said both Republicans and Democrats want government regulation, but they have different views on how it should be implemented.

“Once you are in the government, your dislike for government tends to diminish somewhat,” he told ABC News. “I think that in a very short amount of time, you’ve seen a change in the Republican party. They’ve changed from being a party of small government [and] I think that the government that’s going to be coming will be very heavy-handed.”

He added that he believes Kennedy could have an impact on the messaging around food and/or agriculture by advocating for consumers to buy what he says is safe and healthy. However, Ravens-Seager is not sure to what degree the impact will be.

“I definitely believe that he will have an impact on things like food additives, food safety, and the like,” Ravens-Seager said. “The food side, especially, goes against Republican orthodoxy and could make for some interesting debates, but the degree to which, on this issue in particular, he will find much support within the party seems doubtful.”

Sen. Chuck Grassley, a Republican from Iowa, said last month he wanted to meet with Kennedy before a confirmation hearing and “educate” him about agriculture, indicating concerns about views Kennedy has expressed.

“I’m willing to have a discussion with him and find out where he’s coming from,” Grassley told reporters, according to Politico. “But I may have to spend a lot of time educating him about agriculture, and I’m willing to do that.”

Eitan Hersh, a professor of political science at Tufts University in Massachusetts, said it’s important to remember that many steps need to occur before new regulations are put in place, including Kennedy being confirmed by the Senate, new regulations being proposed and approved, potential discussion in Congress and enforcement of those regulations.

“This is all maybes, but I think that the signaling happening with putting RFK in HHS is showing some sense of priorities, and I think those priorities are not favoring, necessarily, the interest of business and protecting them from regulation,” he told ABC News.

ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett contributed to this report.

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(WASHINGTON) — The Supreme Court on Monday was divided over whether the Food and Drug Administration had unlawfully rejected millions of flavored e-cigarettes for approved sale in U.S. over concerns about nicotine addiction among young people.

During oral arguments in a case that could have a significant impact on public health, the justices grappled with tobacco industry claims that the government had given unclear and shifting requirements for new product applications and failed to provide proper notice to the companies.

“FDA switched its position on what studies were required” to show that the products have benefits to existing smokers that offset risks to youth, argued Eric Heyer, the attorney representing vape manufacturers Triton Distribution and Vapetasia, which are seeking a green light to market e-liquids such as “Jimmy the Juice Man Peachy Strawberry” and “Iced Pineapple Express.”

Federal law requires sellers of new nicotine products to provide regulators with scientific evidence to show that the products would promote public health, but the statute does not spell out specifically what evidence is necessary and sufficient. The FDA’s guidance on how to meet that requirement is at the center of the case.

“Their argument is that the guidance were actually a moving target, that either they weren’t clear or you changed the guidance as time went on,” said Justice Clarence Thomas, who appeared sympathetic to vape manufacturers.

“That is their argument,” replied Biden administration lawyer Curtis Gannon, representing the FDA, adding, “But I think that the key point is that they knew from the statute that they needed to be making this comparison about what the benefits were with respect to existing smokers and weighing that against the potential costs with respect to nonsmokers and attracting youth.”

Justice Neil Gorusch suggested that the companies might not have been given “fair notice” of how they could comply with the law. “Wouldn’t due process require an opportunity for notice and a hearing?” he asked Gannon.

E-cigarettes and vapes, which deliver nicotine without some of the harmful effects of smoking, have been booming in popularity. Kid-friendly flavors, such as fruit, candy, mint, menthol and desserts, are not approved by the FDA and are on the market illegally.

While vaping among youth is declining, more than 1.6 million children use the products, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nearly 90% of them consume illicit flavored brands.

Manufacturers have acknowledged that their products may appeal to youth but insist that a “growing body of scientific evidence” shows that “flavors are crucial to getting adult smokers to make the switch and stay away from combustible cigarettes.”

A federal appeals court sided with the companies last year, saying the agency had acted arbitrarily. If the Supreme Court upholds that ruling, it could clear the way for broader marketing and sale of flavored nicotine products.

The Court’s three liberal justices all seemed to share the government’s view that FDA did not illegally move the goal posts during the process and that the companies simply lacked the evidence to win approval.

Since 2009, when Congress passed legislation aimed at curbing tobacco use among young people, the government has almost universally denied tobacco company requests to sell flavored nicotine e-liquids, citing risks of addiction among minors.

The FDA said the two companies in this case provided insufficient evidence that the benefits of their flavored e-products in helping tobacco smokers quit exceed the dangers of hooking children.

“I’m so totally confused,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor told Heyer. “What [FDA] said is what you provided wasn’t sufficient.”

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said she was “baffled” by Heyer’s argument because the FDA had explicitly articulated its standard.

“I guess I’m not really seeing what the surprise is here, or what the change is here,” said Justice Elena Kagan. “There’s just not a lot of mystery here about what FDA was doing. You might disagree with that, because you think that, in fact, the world of 40-year-olds really wants to do blueberry vaping, but you can’t say that FDA hasn’t told you all about what it’s thinking in this respect.”

Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who could be a critical vote in the case, signaled sympathy to the industry’s complaint about discretionary government regulation but suggested he wasn’t convinced FDA had acted unreasonably.

“If the agency says [your claims of benefits to adult smokers] that doesn’t outweigh the harm to youth, we’ve reviewed everything, we’re aware of everything, of course they’re aware of everything that’s out there, that’s kind of the end of it, isn’t it?” Kavanaugh asked.

Even if they lose the case, several justices noted, the vape manufacturers could reapply for approval with the FDA in a new application.

While the first Trump administration had taken a hard line against the marketing and sale of sweet and candy-flavored vapes, president-elect Donald Trump said during the campaign that he wants to “save” flavored vapes.

“We don’t know exactly what that’s going to look like,” said Heyer. But, he added, that his clients “can’t afford to wait that out.”

Nearly a quarter of high school students who use e-cigarettes consume illicit menthol-flavored varieties, according to the 2023 National Youth Tobacco Survey.

Josie Shapiro, the 2024 national youth ambassador for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids who testified before Congress on the dangers of nicotine addiction, said illicit flavored vapes hooked her at age 14.

“I think that by marketing any sort of flavored product as bubble gum or any of the genres of candy, it’s going to catch the eyes of children,” Shapiro said. “I’m still addicted, and I’m still trying to fight my addiction. Honestly, the FDA needs to regulate all flavored tobaccos to flavor ‘tobacco’ products and get them off the market.”

Public health experts have credited the FDA’s restrictions on flavored nicotine products with helping to drive down the number of teenagers who vape gradually from an “epidemic” level just five years ago.

The case, Food and Drug Administration v. Wages and White Lion Investments, LLC, will be decided before the end of the Supreme Court’s term in June 2025.

ABC News’ Patty See contributed to this report.

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(WASHINGTON, DC) — President Joe Biden and his family discussed whether to pardon Hunter Biden during their time together in Nantucket for Thanksgiving, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to ABC News Monday.

Senior White House staff learned of the possibility of a pardon on Saturday evening. President Biden made his final decision on Sunday, the source said.

Biden did not answer questions on the issue as he left late Sunday for a three-day trip to Africa.

Hunter Biden, the president’s only surviving son, was convicted on federal gun-related charges in June and pleaded guilty to nine tax-related charges in September. Both cases carried the possibility of significant prison time and he was set to be sentenced in both later this month.

President Biden had long said he would not pardon his son, including in an interview with ABC’s David Muir as Hunter Biden’s gun trial was underway this past summer.

In his statement on Sunday evening, Biden contended his son was “unfairly” prosecuted after pressure from his political opponents.

“For my entire career I have followed a simple principle: just tell the American people the truth. They’ll be fair-minded. Here’s the truth: I believe in the justice system, but as I have wrestled with this, I also believe raw politics has infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice — and once I made this decision this weekend, there was no sense in delaying it further,” President Biden said.

Hunter Biden, his wife Melissa Cohen Biden and their son Beau, as well as Ashley Biden, spent Thanksgiving in Nantucket with President Biden and first lady Jill Biden.

“I hope Americans will understand why a father and a President would come to this decision,” the president added.

Republicans, including President-elect Donald Trump, pounced on the reversal.

Congressional Republicans spent years investigating the Biden family, including Hunter Biden, over their business dealings. House Republicans released a report in August on their impeachment probe filled with allegations, many targeted toward Hunter Biden, but no recommendation of specific impeachment articles and no evidence of President Biden himself being directly involved in alleged improper activities.

It’s not clear whether Republicans will continue their probes after President Biden leaves office in January.

House Speaker Mike Johnson on Monday criticized the pardon, which extends as far back as 2014.

“President Biden insisted many times he would never pardon his own son for his serious crimes. But last night he suddenly granted a ‘Full and Unconditional Pardon’ for any and all offenses that Hunter committed for more than a decade!” Johnson wrote on X. “Trust in our justice system has been almost irreparably damaged by the Bidens and their use and abuse of it. Real reform cannot begin soon enough!”

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(WASHINGTON) — Republican Sen. Mike Rounds emphasized his support for current FBI Director Christopher Wray, whom President-elect Donald Trump intends to fire and replace with the loyalist Kash Patel.

“I think the president picked a very good man to be the director of the FBI when he did that in his first term,” Rounds told ABC “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl about Wray. “When we meet with him behind closed doors, I’ve had no objections to the way that he’s handled himself, and so I don’t have any complaints about the way that he’s done his job right now.”

However, Rounds reiterated the president-elect’s right to select his Cabinet and Trump’s selection of Patel is not surprising.

“It doesn’t surprise me that he will pick people that he believes are very loyal to himself, and that’s been a part of the process,” Rounds said. “Every president wants people that are loyal to themselves.”

A staunch supporter of Ukraine, Rounds called Russian President Vladimir Putin a “tyrant” and suggested that negotiating with him might be futile.

“I think Mr. Putin is a tyrant. I think dealing with him is going to be extremely difficult,” Rounds said, expressing hope for Trump to succeed but recognizing that this will be a challenge for “any president.”

He added that you can’t trust “a guy that doesn’t honor their word,” which he says Putin had done.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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(NEW YORK) — President-elect Donald Trump announced he will nominate Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister to lead the Drug Enforcement Administration.

In a post on Truth Social on Saturday, Trump said that Chronister — who has served the Tampa, Florida, area for over 32 years — will work with his attorney general selection, Pam Bondi, to help secure the U.S.-Mexico Border.

The DEA administrator is a Senate-confirmed position.

“As DEA Administrator, Chad will work with our great Attorney General, Pam Bondi, to secure the Border, stop the flow of Fentanyl, and other Illegal Drugs, across the Southern Border, and SAVE LIVES,” Trump wrote.

Chronister was appointed to lead the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office by then-Florida Gov. Rick Scott in 2017 and has been twice reelected by voters.

He holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in science in criminal justice from St. Leo University and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy’s 260th session.

Chronister is married to Nikki DeBartolo and has two sons.

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody took to X on Saturday to congratulate Chronister on the nomination and praise his experience in fighting on the “frontlines” of the opioid crisis.

“Chad has fought on the frontlines of the opioid crisis, and I know his leadership and decades of experience will be invaluable as we work to combat the flow of Mexican fentanyl into our county,” Moody wrote.

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(NEW YORK) — President-elect Donald Trump announced Saturday that he plans on firing FBI director Christopher Wray and replacing him with longtime ally Kash Patel.

The appointment must be approved by the Senate.

Patel has been a staunch supporter of Trump for years and served in his first administration under a number of roles. He has vocally defended Jan. 6 rioters.

Patel has said he would target journalists, former senior FBI and Department of Justice officials and turn the FBI into a museum for the “deep state” on Day 1.

“This FBI will end the growing crime epidemic in America, dismantle the migrant criminal gangs, and stop the evil scourge of human and drug trafficking across the Border,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.

The FBI and Patel did not immediately comment about Trump’s announcement. Trump can not make personnel changes to the FBI until he is sworn in.

Wray was appointed in 2017 after he fired Director James Comey, less than four years into his 10 year term. Trump claimed Comey “wasn’t doing a good job.”

Patel, 44, grew up in Long Island and earned a law degree from Pace University Law School. He first served as a public defender in Miami for nine years before moving to Washington D.C. in 2013 to work at Justice Department’s National Security Division.

Patel left the Justice Department in 2017 claiming frustration with the agency, especially with the handling of the Benghazi case.

He went on to lead the “Russia Gate” investigation for House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, with a promise from Nunes that after the investigation he would help Patel get a job at the National Security Council in the White House.

As the self-described “lead investigator of the Russia Gate hoax,” Patel authored the so-called “Nunes memo” alleging that the FBI improperly eavesdropped on former Trump adviser Carter Page.

A major report by the Justice Department’s inspector general released in late 2019 found that the FBI was not impacted by political bias when it opened the investigation — though it outlined what it called “serious performance failures” on the part of agents as they vetted information from sources and sought surveillance warrants against Page.

In February 2019, Patel became Deputy Assistant to the President and “senior director for counterterrorism” on the White House’s National Security Council.

In February 2020, Patel took on a “temporary duty assignment” as deputy to the newly installed acting Director of National Intelligence. That November, after Trump lost the election, Patel was named chief of staff for the Defense Department, despite large critics pointing out that he was unqualifed for the role.

After Trump left the White House, Patel held a number of jobs including hosting shows on far right media outlets.

On a podcast two months ago, Patel said anyone involved in “Russiagate” should be stripped of their security clearances.

According to Patel, there is a “massive” list of such government officials, from the FBI and Justice Department to the CIA and U.S. military.

“They all still have clearances,” including those who left government for private sector jobs, so “everybody” should lose their clearances, Patel said.

Patel said he has personally “recommended” to Trump that the new administration also strip any security clearances still held by the 51 then-former intelligence officials, including former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and former CIA director John Brennan, who in October 2020, just weeks before the 2020 presidential election, signed onto a letter dismissing the public release of emails from Hunter Biden’s laptop as part of a “Russian information operation.”

Patel has also come to the defense of January 6th rioters.

He’s raised money for Jan. 6 defendants and their families, including by promoting the “J6 Prison Choir,” featuring Jan. 6 defendants still in jail, and co-producing their fundraising song “Justice for All,” which Trump played at some of his campaign rallies. And Patel once suggested Jan. 6 was “a free speech movement.”

Patel became a part of the investigation into Trump’s handling of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate.

After news surfaced that the National Archives found some classified documents in boxes previously stored at Mar-a-Lago, Patel called the news “disinformation” and insisted he was there when Trump “declassified whole sets of materials in anticipation of leaving government that he thought the American public should have the right to read themselves.”

Four weeks later, Trump named Patel as one of his official representatives to the National Archives, and Patel promised to “march down there,” “identify every single document that they blocked being declassified at the National Archives, and we are going to start putting that information out.”

Two months later, Patel’s claimed Trump declassifying documents were included in the FBI’s affidavit laying out why the FBI believed a broad search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate was warranted. And Patel was subpoenaed to testify to the grand jury investigating the matter, but at first he refused to answer key questions.

He later returned to the grand jury and answered those questions only after being granted limited-use immunity. He has blasted the entire probe as unlawful overreach by a politically corrupted Justice Department.

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(NEW YORK) — New York state Sen. James Skoufis announced his long-shot bid for chairman of the Democratic National Committee on X on Saturday.

Skoufis, who paints himself as an outsider, underdog and part of a new generation, said he intends to point to his successful record in his district that favors President-elect Donald Trump.

Arguing for a new script, Skoufis said, “Voters have spoken, and we need to listen, not lecture. We need to be strong fighters again.”

“I may be an outsider, but I know how to win,” he continued. “I will throw out the DNC’s stale, Beltway-centered playbook so that we rebuild, stop ceding ground to Republicans and start winning again — everywhere. Not just the party, but the country depends on it. We can win this fight together.”

Skoufis, who has served in the New York legislature since 2013, joins the field with Martin O’Malley, the former Maryland governor who has served as commissioner of the Social Security Administration since December 2023, and Ken Martin, a vice chairman of the DNC who also leads the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party. Jaime Harrison, the current chairman, is not seeking a second term.

The election of a new DNC chair will take place at the party’s winter meeting in National Harbor, Maryland, on Feb. 1, 2025. Harrison announced earlier this week that there will be four forums for candidates to make their cases to DNC members, who will also select a vice chair, treasurer, secretary and national finance chair, after the party lost the presidency and couldn’t obtain a majority in either the Senate or the House in the 2024 elections.

“As my time as Chair comes to a close and we prepare to undertake the critical work of holding the Trump Administration and Republican Party accountable for their extremism and false promises, we are beginning to lay out the process for upcoming DNC officer elections in the New Year,” Harrison said in a statement. “The DNC is committed to running a transparent, equitable, and impartial election for the next generation of leadership to guide the party forward.”

The DNC’s Rules and Bylaws Committee will meet on Dec. 12 to determine the Rules of Procedure for the contest, including what will be necessary to gain access to the ballot. In 2021, candidates needed the signatures of 40 DNC members, which is expected to hold for the 2025 race.

The 448 DNC members voting at the winter meeting includes 200 state-elected members from 57 states, territories and Democrats Abroad; members representing 16 affiliate groups; and 73 at-large members elected by the DNC, ABC News previously reported.

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(PALM BEACH, Fla.) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is in Florida at Mar-a-Lago and is expected to meet with President-elect Donald Trump tonight, according to multiple sources.

The expected meeting comes after Trump threatened sweeping 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada until both countries stop what he claims is a flow of drugs and illegal immigrants into the United States.

Trudeau told reporters earlier this week after he and Trump spoke on the phone following the tariff threat that they had a “good call.” He added that he looks forward to “lots of great conversations” with Trump.

The prime minister has cited the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or UMSCA, negotiations as a sign he believes he can work with Trump on trade and avoid a trade war.

USMCA went into effect in 2020 after it was signed by Trump and was designed to provide mostly duty-free trade among the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Trump’s tariff threats could put that deal in jeopardy.

The terms of USMCA allowed it to be renegotiated after six years, in 2026, but experts have told ABC News that the tariff threat may be an effort to move up that negotiation window.

However, some experts told ABC News’ Selina Wang and Karen Travers that the threat is not likely to work in a second Trump term because it is “the same playbook done the second time around. If you’re on the football field and you call the same play twice, it’s not going to be as effective the second time.”

The tariffs also could significantly raise prices for goods after Trump ran his campaign on lowering too-high inflation.

Trudeau spoke with Trump on Monday, Nov. 25, after Trump had announced the day-one tariffs on Canada and Mexico, as well as on China, the U.S.’s top three trading partners.

“We talked about some of the challenges that we can work on together,” he told reporters of the call. “This is a relationship that we know takes a certain amount of working on, and that’s what we’ll do.”

Trudeau’s plane landed at Palm Beach International Airport on Friday ahead of an expected dinner at Mar-a-Lago with the president-elect, according to reports.

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