Fox News reports: President-elect Donald Trump told Fox News Digital that House Speaker Mike Johnson will “easily remain speaker” for the next Congress if he “acts decisively and tough” and eliminates “all of the traps being set by Democrats” in the spending package. Fox News Digital spoke exclusively with the president-elect Thursday morning, just hours after the bipartisan deal to …

“Congress has had all year to get this done and they always wait until the last second and they try to pull a fast one, get caught, whine about Christmas and promise they won’t do it again, and it’s the same every time. Trump won because Democrats caused inflation and now Republicans – with the help of Democrats – are …

Mediaite reports: Amid the looming chaos of a failed spending bill designed to avoid a government shutdown, Senator Rand Paul offered a unique solution: name the world’s richest man the Speaker of the House. In a Thursday morning message on X, the social media platform owned by said “world’s richest man,” Senator Paul suggested that Elon Musk replace Rep. Mike …

The Hill reports: Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) handling of an end-of-year spending deal is throwing his grasp on his gavel into uncertain territory ahead of a critical Jan. 3 Speaker vote, as some GOP lawmakers question their support for the Louisiana Republican. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) on Wednesday came out against Johnson in light of the spending deal, pledging to …

Politico reports: At least a dozen senators are pushing to see the FBI’s background check on Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s embattled pick for Pentagon chief — a rare move for the committee that oversees his confirmation and a sign the former Fox News host still faces hurdles in the Senate. Unlike some other committees, the Senate Armed Services usually limits …

Glorious Leader posts to Truth Social: Sounds like the ridiculous and extraordinarily expensive Continuing Resolution, PLUS, is dying fast, but can anyone imagine passing it without either terminating, or extending, the Debt Ceiling guillotine coming up in June? Unless the Democrats terminate or substantially extend Debt Ceiling now, I will fight ‘till the end. This is a nasty TRAP set …

“President Musk this morning made it clear – with all his vast government experience, which is basically, he became rich on the federal government – that he doesn’t want Republicans to pass this. And seemingly, Vice President Trump kind of backed him up at that point. And what it says about the politics is this is going to be a …

The Washington Post reports: The 15-year-old girl who killed two people and wounded six others at her small Christian school here Monday had a turbulent home life, according to court records, which show that her parents divorced and remarried multiple times and that she had been enrolled in therapy. Rupnow’s father is a Christian who often shared pictures of his …

CBS News reports:  A 20-year-old Carlsbad man is accused of plotting a mass shooting at a government building in conjunction with Madison, Wisconsin, school shooter Samantha Rupnow’s attack at the Abundant Life Christian School. According to a gun violence restraining order obtained by CBS 8, FBI agents served Alexander Paffendorf after discovering Paffendorf was in contact with Rupnow and coordinating …

NBC News reports: Former Rep. David Rivera, R-Fla., was indicted Tuesday on charges that he violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act and laundered funds in order to “conceal and promote his criminal conduct,” the Justice Department said on Wednesday. In the indictment, Rivera is accused of working “as an agent” of Raul Gorrín Belisario, a Venezuelan national who the Treasury …

“So the president does three events in Georgia, ours being the last one ending at 11 pm. Red eyes all the way to Vegas, does a whole tour out west. Right? Arizona. He goes up to Carson City, ends with us in Vegas. Wakes up the next morning at 6 am, flies to Austin, does a press conference, does 3 …

Media Matters has the transcript: SEN. TOMMY TUBERVILLE (GUEST): But the problem is I got with the farm bill is it’s gonna be $1.5 trillion and $200 billion goes to the farmers in a five year period, and $1.3 trillion – STEVE BANNON (HOST): Food stamps. TUBERVILLE: Goes to food stamps. Now we need to start cutting and, and you …

The Washington Post reports: The Teamsters are launching strikes against seven Amazon warehouses Thursday, in the union’s biggest provocation yet against the nation’s second-largest private employer, threatening to delay some package delivery during the busy Christmas season. The strikes will take place at sites in New York City, Atlanta, San Francisco, Skokie, Ill., and Southern California. Roughly 9,000 Amazon workers …

Broadway World reports: Sing along with Elphaba in a new promo for Wicked! Beginning on December 25, audiences are invited to sing along with the movie musical in interactive screenings which feature on-screen lyrics and a special introduction from Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. Check out the new clip of The Wizard and I from the movie now. The sing-along …

The Associated Press reports: The top Democrat in the House is blaming Republicans for a government shutdown if one happens. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Wednesday evening in remarks from the U.S. Capitol that “House Republicans will now own any harm that is visited on the American people that results from a government shutdown, or worse.” “An agreement is …

Politico reports: Among the 100-plus tweets Musk sent Wednesday were a number of misleading or outright false claims — a worrying start to the mogul’s new role as co-leader of a Trump-blessed effort to slash government funding. Musk is repeatedly posting on X that a government shutdown wouldn’t have any significant consequences for the country. He responded “YES” to a …

The Huffington Post reports: The Oklahoma State Department of Education proposed a new administrative rule on Tuesday that would require school districts to collect data on undocumented students in the state. The agency that oversees the state’s public and charter schools announced the proposed rule about a month before President-elect Donald Trump, who has promised an unprecedented crackdown on undocumented …

The Daily Dot reports: FEC filings show that this campaign season, Mace spent $165,000 for the sole purpose of getting on television. Mace has recently been on cable news launching heated attacks against one of her colleagues, Rep. Sarah McBridge (D-Del.), who is trans, for using the women’s bathroom on Capitol Hill. From February 2023 to October 2024, Mace made …

Posted by JD Vance to his X account: A statement from President Donald J. Trump and Vice President-Elect JD Vance: The most foolish and inept thing ever done by Congressional Republicans was allowing our country to hit the debt ceiling in 2025. It was a mistake and is now something that must be addressed. Meanwhile, Congress is considering a spending …

Florida Politics reports: Disney World is temporarily closing the Hall of Presidents on Jan. 20 for a refurbishment, which is the same day as President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration. Disney posted on its website that it expects to reopen the classic Magic Kingdom attraction sometime later in 2025. Trump during his first presidential term was honored in the Hall of Presidents, …