Sen. John Fetterman, D-Penn., is facing backlash on X after he made a post on Thursday stating that the “Green dipsh–s” in Pennsylvania helped elect a Republican senator.

Fetterman was referring to complaints about how long it was taking Pennsylvania to count votes and declare a winner in the senate race, which was ultimately called Thursday afternoon for Republican Dave McCormick.

“Pennsylvania is going to count every last vote. That’s not controversial—that’s the law,” Fetterman wrote. “Also, Green dipsh–s’ votes helping elect the GOP.”

McCormick beat incumbent Democrat Sen. Bob Casey by about 35,000 votes. Green Party candidate Leila Hazou received more than 64,100 votes and Libertarian candidate John Thomas received more than 87,700 votes, as of Thursday night.

Various X users responded to Fetterman’s post criticizing his rhetoric, including X owner Elon Musk who said, “Calling Green voters ‘dipsh–s’ is not a great way to win them over.”

Republican Daniel Martinez, who ran to represent California’s 31st Congressional District in the U.S. House and lost on Tuesday, responded to Fetterman with,” Those are your constituents you’re denigrating.”

Republican U.S. Rep. Young Kim, of California, won re-election, retaining her House seat on Thursday.

Kim Defeated Democrat Joseph Kerr, a retired firefighter.

Kim, a former state lawmaker, flipped her district in Orange County in 2020, despite President Biden carrying it in the presidential election.

As of Thursday, the Republicans were leading the House race with 210 seats compared to 198 for Democrats.

Democrat Julia Brownley wins reelection to U.S. House in California’s 26th Congressional District.

She defeated Republican Michael Koslow.

Brownley, who previously served in the state Assembly for six years, was first elected to the House in 2012. Before entering politics, she worked in marketing and sales.

Her district comprises a small part of Los Angeles County and most of Ventura County, including the cities of Oxnard and Thousand Oaks.

Susie Wiles, President-elect Trump’s pick to serve as his White House chief of staff in his second administration, is the best choice to assist him during his second term, a longtime Republican consultant told Fox News.

“If they searched high and low in the entire world, there is not a better choice than Susie Wiles” for White House Chief of Staff, said Jon Brabender, a longtime Republican consultant and a veteran of numerous GOP presidential, Senate, House and gubernatorial campaigns.

When it comes to Wiles, Brabender, who served as a senior member of the 2024 Trump campaign’s strategy, message, and media team, said “nobody’s going to have a better relationship with the president, who understands that she is there to help him however she can and he will respect that.”

“Susie will have no other agenda than helping the president help people,” Brabender emphasized. And he noted that “everybody who works for Susie in the White House will be vetted by Susie which means that they’re going to be nothing but the best.”

Brabender, who reported directly to Wiles and Chris La Civita, the two co-campaign managers for Trump’s 2024 White House bid, noted that he’s been in the business for years and stressed that “there is nobody I respect more than Susie Wiles.”

CNN host Jake Tapper mocked claims by Democrats that the party suffered losses on Election Day because of issues communicating with voters.

“It’s always a comms issue,” Tapper said. “It’s never the record. It’s always they’re just not communicating what they did effectively enough.”

“The truth of the matter is that there was horrific inflation, and people had trouble buying groceries,” he added. “For most Americans, a $400 problem is a big problem.”

Media analysts have said that many voters were concerned with a range of issues, including inflation, the southern border and crime.

DNC Chairman Jaime Harrison on Thursday fired back at Bernie Sanders after the progressive senator from Vermont claimed Democrats had lost the working class.

“It should come as no great surprise that a Democratic Party which has abandoned working class people would find that the working class has abandoned them,” wrote Sanders in a Nov. 6 post.

Harrison
slammed Sanders, calling it “straight up BS” in a rebuttal post on X.

“Biden was the most-pro worker President of my life time- saved Union pensions, created millions of good paying jobs and even marched in a picket line and some of MVP’s plans would have fundamentally transformed the quality of life and closed the racial wealth gap for working people across this country,” wrote Harrison.

“From the child tax credits, to 25k for a down payment for a house to Medicare covering the cost of senior health care in their homes. There are a lot of post election takes and this one ain’t a good one,” he concluded. Harrison’s post currently has over 18,000 likes.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker on Thursday vowed to protect vulnerable communities and said the state was prepared for a second Trump presidency.

“Over the years ahead, we’ll do more than just protect against the possible reversion to an agenda that threatens to take us backward,” he said during a press conference, Fox 2 Now reported. “We will continue to advance a positive, productive, and inclusive agenda of our own. Despite his threats to health care coverage and educational opportunity and a fair minimum wage, Illinois will continue to invest in the well-being and prosperity of our people.”

Pritzker, a Democrat, said Illinois would protect residents from those who attempt to limit their rights or protections.

“People have often said that I’m a happy warrior, and I’ve always taken seriously my role as a happy warrior on behalf of this state. Even today, when I’m struggling with many of the difficult questions this election poses, my optimism for the future remains undiminished,” he said.

“To anyone who intends to come take away the freedom and opportunity and dignity of Illinoisans, I would remind you that a happy warrior is still a warrior. You come for my people, you come through me.”

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said he’s spoken with President-elect Trump about joining his upcoming administration but that his commitment lies with his home state.

Youngkin campaigned for Trump whenever he stopped in the state.

“He [Trump} knows that I am committed and will continue to serve as governor through my full term,” he told WWBT-TV. “And that is so important. I’m only hired for one term, four years, and when I spoke to him about this, he was very supportive of me finishing the job that I am committed to, and I am committed.”

If Youngkin were to step down to join the administration, he would be the first governor to do so in Virginia since the 1800s, the news outlet reported.

President-elect Donald Trump won a majority Hispanic county in Texas for the first time in over 100 years on Tuesday night in a massive swing since losing that same county eight years ago.

Trump defeated VP Harris in Starr County, Texas on Tuesday night by a margin of 57.7% to 41.8% becoming the first Republican to carry the county, which sits along the U.S.-Mexico border, since 1898, Fox 4 Dallas reported.

In 2016, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton defeated Trump by 60 points, a 76-point swing. Census data from 2020 shows that over 90% of residents in Starr County identify as Hispanic or Latino.

Trump’s historic performance in Starr County comes in an election where he continued to make inroads with Hispanic voters nationwide.

Trump gained six points of support from Hispanics over 2020, leaving Democrats single-digit favorites among the bloc, according to data compiled by the Financial Times and other outlets.

This is an excerpt from an article by Andrew Mark Miller 

Susie Wiles, a longtime Republican political operative and campaign manager for President-elect Trump, will serve as his White House chief of staff.

Wiles will become the first female chief of staff in history.

“Susie Wiles just helped me achieve one of the greatest political victories in American history, and was an integral part of both my 2016 and 2020 successful campaigns,” Trump said in a statement. “Susie is tough, smart, innovative, and is universally admired and respected. Susie will continue to work tirelessly to Make America Great Again. It is a well deserved honor to have Susie as the first-ever female Chief of Staff in United States history. I have no doubt that she will make our country proud.”

Vice President-elect JD Vance called Wiles a “huge asset” to Trump on the campaign trial “and will be a huge asset in the White House. She’s also just a really good person. Onward!”

Trump, during his victory celebration in West Palm Beach, Florida, late Tuesday night, gave special thanks to Wiles for her prominent role throughout the campaign.

“Let me also express my tremendous appreciation for Susie [Wiles] and Chris [LaCivita], the job you did. Susie, come, Susie,” Trump said, inviting her up to the microphone, but Wiles refrained from making comments.

“Susie likes to stay sort of in the back, let me tell you. The ice baby. We call her the ice baby. Susie likes to stay in the background. She’s not in the background,” Trump added. “Thank you, Susie.”

Wiles’ decades-long political career stretches back to working as former President Reagan’s campaign scheduler for his 1980 presidential bid.

Austin Theriault, the Republican challenger to Democratic Maine Congressman Jared Golden, is filing for a re-count, saying only a few thousand votes separate the two.

“This is the closest federal or statewide race in modern Maine political history, so let’s work together to ensure an accurate count and that the final result reflects the will of the people,” Theriault wrote Thursday on X. “Right now, the gap is at about 2,000 votes according to our internal tracking.

“We were significantly outspent, but the closeness of our race against a three-term incumbent is a testament to your hard work and commitment to improving our country,” he added.

Golden’s campaign said it was ready for a re-count if necessary.

“Congressman Golden believes our democratic system is the greatest and strongest the world has ever known,” a campaign statement said. “He has trust and faith in the process of determining the victor, and is ready for a recount if one is necessary. He is confident that when all the votes are counted, his victory will be undeniable.”

Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Al Schmidt said Thursday that thousands more ballots remain to be counted despite Republican Senate candidate David McCormick being declared the winner over longtime Democrat Sen. Bob Casey.

“Throughout the day, the Department has communicated with counties who continue to conduct a secure election where every eligible vote is counted,” Schmidt staid in a statement posted on X. “We estimate there are at least 100,000 ballots remaining to be adjudicated, including provisional, military, overseas, and Election Day votes. We urge patience as election workers continue to do this important work, especially in contests where the margins are very close.”

Former Australian prime minister and current ambassador to the United States in Washington Kevin Rudd has deleted tweets critical of President-elect Donald Trump after he won the presidential election.

Rudd had described Trump in a 2020 post as “the most destructive president in history,” according to reporting from NDTV. 

He served as Australia’s 26th prime minister from 2007 to 2010 as head of their Labor Party, and was re-elected in 2013 after a brief stint as Australia’s foreign minister.

The comments were made when Rudd had served as Chair of the Asia Society Policy Institute, which was described by Columbia University World Leaders Forum as “dedicated to using second track diplomacy to assist governments and businesses in resolving policy challenges within Asia, and between Asia and the West.”

According to a statement shared with Fox News Digital from Ambassador Rudd’s office, “In his previous role as the head of an independent US-based think tank, Mr. Rudd was a regular commentator on American politics. Out of respect for the office of President of the United States, and following the election of President Trump, Ambassador Rudd has now removed these past commentaries from his personal website and social media channels.”

“This has been done to eliminate the possibility of such comments being misconstrued as reflecting his positions as Ambassador and, by extension, the views of the Australian Government. Ambassador Rudd looks forward to working with President Trump and his team to continue strengthening the US-Australia alliance,” the statement concluded.

This is an excerpt from an article by Jasmine Baehr.

The people in President Biden’s political orbit blame former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., over the election losses for Democrats on Tuesday, according to media reports.

Biden confidantes told reporters that Pelosi was to blame for Biden being pushed out of the race, saying he would have won over white working-class voters, who largely voted for President-elect Trump, The Daily Mail reported.

Other insiders blamed Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Harris’ running mate, for being too left-wing, the report said.

Some have said Biden should have pulled out of the race well before his June debate performance, which would have given Harris more time to establish herself and allowed for an open Democratic primary.

U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, D-N.Y., blamed sexism for Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential election loss, while warning that it will be a scary time under “fascist” President-elect Donald Trump.

“This is going to be a very, very, very, challenging difficult time … for millions of people in this country. This is going to be a very scary time,” she said in a lengthy video posted Wednesday to Instagram. “I’m not here to sugarcoat what we are about to experience.”

Ocasio-Cortez had endorsed the Harris-Walz campaign, telling voters that Trump would be a threat to democracy.

She claimed Harris likely lost some votes because of sexism from male voters who didn’t want to elect a female president.

“If Kamala Harris was Tom Harris, we may have a different result today,” she said.

Republican Pennsylvania Senate candidate Dave McCormick was declared victorious in his high-stakes election against longtime Democrat Sen. Bob Casey on Tuesday. 

Casey has served in the Senate since 2008 and ultimately became a stalwart within the Democratic Party.

For example, he voted on legislation President Biden supported 98.5% of the time, according to FiveThirtyEight data.  The Casey name also has deep roots in the state, with Bob Casey Sr., the senator’s father, serving as the Keystone State’s governor from 1987 to 1995 after years of serving in various other elected roles.The longtime senator, however, faced what was described as his most difficult re-election effort to date, squaring up against Republican businessman Dave McCormick. 

McCormick is an Army combat veteran and former CEO of hedge fund Bridgewater Associates who served as the undersecretary of commerce for industry and security as well as undersecretary of the treasury for international affairs in former President George W. Bush’s administration.

The Pennsylvania Department of State said ballots were still being counted and asked for patience. Ballots are counted beginning on Election Day, the agency said.

The Casey campaign has not conceded the race, noting the number of ballots that still need to be counted.

“As the Pennsylvania Secretary of State said this afternoon, there are tens of thousands of ballots across the Commonwealth still to count, which includes provisional ballots, military and overseas ballots, and mail ballots,” a campaign statement said. “This race is within half a point and cannot be called while the votes of thousands of Pennsylvanians are still being counted. We will make sure every Pennsylvanian’s voice is heard.”

U.S. Se. John Fetterman, D-Penn., said The Associated Press called the race too early.

“We still have tens of thousands of votes to be counted across the Commonwealth,” he posted on X. “@AP_Politics shouldn’t make a call in this race until every Pennsylvanian has their vote counted.”

This is an excerpt from an article by Emma Colton.

Democratic Rep. Susie Lee has won re-election to a U.S. House seat representing Nevada’s third Congressional District, The Associated Press has declared.

Lee first won this Clark County seat in 2018, succeeding Democrat Jacky Rosen. The district picked up more Democratic voters after redistricting but remains a target for Republicans.

The district covers a large part of Spring Valley along with rural areas. Lee defeated Republican Drew Johnson, a conservative policy analyst and a senior fellow at the National Center for Public Policy Research.

Sources in Vice President-elect JD Vance’s political orbit say his role in Donald Trump’s upcoming administration is simple.

It will be whatever the president-elect needs Vance to do and wherever Trump needs a second set of eyes and focus, they tell Fox News.

Vance, the first-term senator from Ohio who quickly became one of the top advocates for Trump’s “America First” policies in the Senate, was named by the former president as the GOP’s vice presidential nominee on the first day of the Republican National Convention in July. 

The senator was tireless on the campaign trail the remainder of the summer and autumn, stumping on behalf of the Republican ticket and taking aim at Vice President Kamala Harris; her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz; and President Biden’s administration.

With Trump and Vance’s convincing electoral victory this week, which included a sweep of the key battleground states and a popular vote victory, the transition between the Biden and second Trump administrations is quickly getting underway. And the vice president-elect will have an honorary role in the transition.

This is an excerpt from an article by Paul Steinhauser.

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith told the co-hosts of “The View” he was not surprised by the outcome of the 2024 election, saying President-elect Donald Trump’s victory was clear “a mile away.”

“I was surprised at how lopsided it was. I was not surprised by the outcome. I saw the outcome coming from a mile away. You have to take into account, listen, we respect our President Joe Biden, but here’s the reality. He got into office. He promised to be a transitional president, to be a stopgap, to pave the way for somebody else to come on board,” Smith said, noting the Democrats’ success in the 2022 midterms.

Smith continued to describe the Democratic Party’s situation after the president decided to stay in office, which set off a chain of events leading to Kamala Harris replacing him on the ticket and her defeat at the hands of Trump. 

“When he decided to stay, the Democrats were in a quandary because they were expecting him to leave,” he continued. “They’re around him, they’re seeing the fastball has dissipated to some degree, they’re seeing that he’s not what he used to be. And what do you do about it? You grease the skids. There’s no primary for him to experience. You let him go on stage June 27, and clearly he was exposed … And then Kamala Harris is inserted. I don’t blame her one bit, I thought she did a phenomenal job.”

This is an excerpt from an article by Hanna Panreck.

Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Al Schmidt is urging Pennsylvanians to be patience as ballot counting resumes two days after Election Day.

“Every legitimate vote must be counted in every election, we ask for patience as county election officials continue the work of counting ballots here in Pennsylvania,” Schmidt said in a statement posted on X.

He said ballots include in-person ballots on Election Day, domestic mail ballots, military and overseas citizens mail ballots, as well as provisional ballots – all of which were cast on or before Election Day.

“Provisional ballots are ballots cast in-person at a polling place on Election Day because the voter is not in the poll book at that precinct. After every election – close or not – those ballots are examined by the county (with party observers present) to determine if the vote was cast by a registered voter or not,” Schmidt said. “If the provisional ballot was cast by a registered voter in the county, their vote will be counted for all statewide races and whatever local races the voter is eligible to vote in. This process takes time — and occurs after every election, close or not.”

The majority in the House of Representatives appears within reach for Republicans, who have already won control of the Senate and White House.

Associated Press race projections show Republicans holding 209 seats compared to 196 seats for Democrats as of Thursday afternoon.

A total of five sitting House lawmakers are projected to lose their re-election bids so far – three Republicans and two Democrats.

Several races involving GOP incumbents in California are still too close to call and are likely to be pivotal to the House majority. 

Republicans in three Arizona districts, as well as GOP lawmakers in Nebraska, Iowa, and Oregon are also still awaiting result projections.

Whichever party reaches 218 victories first will hold the House majority in the 119th Congress.

But House Republican leaders have been touting confidence in their eventual victory, with the top four House leaders already formally announcing bids to hold the same spots in a January House majority.

“It appears we’re going to hold the House and flip the Senate,” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., told Fox News Digital on Wednesday night. “California’s the main state still. You know, in a lot of those close races, our incumbents are leading the way — by small margins, but we knew there would be small margins.”

This is an excerpt from an article by Elizabeth Elkind.

Democratic Rep. Steven Horsford won reelection to a U.S. House seat representing Nevada on Thursday.

A four-term congressman, Horsford defeated former North Las Vegas Mayor John Lee.

He became the first Black person to represent Nevada in Congress when he was first elected to the House.

Democrat Kim Schrier wins re-election to U.S. House in Washington’s 8th Congressional District, according to The Associated Press.

She defeated Republican Carmen Goers, who works in financial services.

Schrier, a pediatrician, first won her seat in 2018, becoming the first Democrat to represent the district.

Of the seven Washington state congressional districts that Democrat Joe Biden carried in 2020, the 8th district had the smallest margin.

As of Thursday, Republicans have won 209 seats, compared to 195 for Democrats.

Democratic Rep. Don Davis is projected as the winner against Republican challenger Laurie Buckhout in North Carolina‘s 1st Congressional District, considered a toss-up race this election cycle, according to The Associated Press.

Davis, who won the seat in 2022 after the retirement of longtime Democrat G.K. Butterfield, is a former state senator and mayor.

He also has a military background as an Air Force officer.

Buckhout is a retired U.S. Army colonel with extensive experience in military logistics and national security. While the 1st District has historically leaned Democratic and has a large Black population, recent electoral trends in North Carolina are showing growing Republican support in rural areas, where conservatives are largely dissatisfied with Democratic policies on issues such as the economy and agriculture. 

The district, which covers much of the northeastern part of the state, includes rural counties, the Inner Banks, and parts of the Research Triangle. 

Republican Pennsylvania Rep. Scott Perry is projected to win his re-election effort against Democratic challenger Janelle Stelson in the state’s 10th Congressional District.

Perry has served as a Pennsylvania congressman since 2013, and currently represents the state’s 10th District, which includes the state’s capital, Harrisburg, as well as Dauphin County and parts of Cumberland and York Counties. 

The race for the district’s seat heated up recently even as most attention has been on the Keystone State’s presidential and Senate races. 

Perry, who has repeatedly been endorsed by former President Trump throughout his career, is the former chair of the conservative House ​​Freedom Caucus and campaigned on issues such as cracking down on illegal immigration following the “Biden-Harris Administration’s reprehensible, dangerous, and failed border policies,” American energy independence, protecting women’s sports and reeling in inflation following the “the radical Left’s spending increases.”

Perry faced Stelson, a former broadcast journalist for decades in the Harrisburg area. Just days ahead of the election, the Democratic challenger racked up endorsements from former Republican House members who worked with Perry. Former Reps. Barbara Comstock, Adam Kinzinger, Denver Riggleman, Dave Trott and Joe Walsh threw their support behind Stelson last week and launched a “Republicans for Janelle” group.

Stelson campaigned on issues such as protecting abortion access following the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, hiring more border agents to better secure the border, and lowering the cost of living for Pennsylvanians. 

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News’ Emma Colton

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is advocating for President-elect Donald Trump to tap state surgeon general Dr. Joseph Ladapo to serve as secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

“Retweet if you’d like to see this man — Dr. Joseph Ladapo — serve as the Secretary of HHS in the new Trump administration,” DeSantis wrote in a post on X, which features a photo of Ladapo.

The post has earned thousands of retweets and amassed more than 1 million views.

Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis was one of the many people who endorsed her husband’s idea by retweeting the post.

On the heels of Trump’s decisive 2024 presidential election victory, DeSantis declared Wednesday on X that Trump “not only earned a sweeping electoral victory, he earned a mandate for change.”

Ladapo tweeted on Wednesday, “The future of health freedom looks brighter today. Just as in Florida, it’s time to say ‘No’ to trampling on people’s rights, to gaslighting citizens about experimental vaccines that harm instead of help & to muzzling doctors who dissent with orthodoxy. Light triumphs over darkness.”

Ladapo recommends against using mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, according to the Florida Department of Health.

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News’ Alex Nitzberg

One of the first-term Republican lawmakers key to the House GOP winning the majority in the last election is projected to lose his seat.

Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, R-N.Y., a retired NYPD officer, was defeated by former local official Laura Gillen in New York’s 4th Congressional District on suburban Long Island, in the shadow of New York City, The Associated Press said Thursday.

Two days after Election Day, the balance of power in the House is still undetermined, with key races yet to be called in Pennsylvania, Arizona, Nevada and other states. Democrats and Republicans have now each flipped four seats.

The election was a rematch of the November 2022 race, when D’Esposito beat Gillen and flipped the seat from blue to red.

Gillen is a former Hempstead town supervisor and previously worked as an attorney representing victims of domestic violence, according to her campaign website.

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News’ Elizabeth Elkind

A House Democrat is arguing that their party needs to get past “this idea they call ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’” as President-elect Donald Trump is gearing up for another term in the White House.  

The lawmaker, speaking to Axios about how Democrats should approach Trump’s second term, suggested they ought to “pick and choose” their battles this time around.  

“Democrats just literally attacked everything he did. We could never agree with anything, never give him credit for anything, could never say, ‘Well actually securing the border is a good idea, I just disagree with how he’s doing it,'” the House Democrat was quoted as saying in the wake of Vice President Kamala Harris’ election loss.  

The discussion about Democrats reworking their strategy for Trump comes as they have been weighing in on what they believe went wrong for Harris, ranging from her choice of Tim Walz as running mate to select comments she made on national television while campaigning.  

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News’ Greg Norman.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., on Thursday congratulated President-elect Trump’s victory over Vice President Harris. 

Jeffries said in a statement, “We cannot love America only when we win.” “The American people have spoken,” Jeffries said in the statement.

“I congratulate President-elect Donald J. Trump.” 

Jeffries commended Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, as being “remarkable public servants” and noted how their campaign was “inspired and positive.” 

The minority leader also noted how the House of Representatives was still up for grabs as ballots for multiple elections across the country were still being counted before adding a swipe at Republicans about “election denial.”

“We must count every vote and wait until the results in Oregon, Arizona and California are clear,” he said. “I am proud that the Democratic Party does not believe in election denial. Our Democracy is precious and it involves elevating public trust in our system of free and fair elections, not undermining it.”

Republican Jeff Hurd won the election for Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District, which currently belongs to Rep. Lauren Boebert.

Boebert ran in and won Colorado’s 4th district in this election, leaving the 3rd district open. Hurd’s race was rated “lean Republican” in the Fox News Power Rankings prior to Election Day.

“I told voters — and I intend to follow up on that promise — that securing the border will be a top priority, growing our energy economy and protecting water and agriculture, so those are going to be my top priorities when I’m sworn in,” Hurd told the Denver Post in an interview on Wednesday.

Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro responded Thursday to President-elect Trump’s victory over Vice President Harris in the 2024 presidential election, saying “the people of Pennsylvania have spoken” after Trump won the battleground state and the presidency.

“As I have always said, the will of the people must be respected – and the people of Pennsylvania have spoken, electing Donald Trump to be the next President of the United States along with other Republicans and Democrats for state and federal offices on the same ballot,” Shapiro said in a statement.

Shapiro, who was seen as a potential vice-presidential candidate before Harris chose Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, campaigned in support of Harris during the election cycle.

“I know the pundits will analyze every aspect of this election, but for my part, I’m going to continue to listen to the good people of Pennsylvania, show respect for their choices, and find ways to bring people back together and move the ball down the field to put points on the board for all of us,” the governor said.

Shapiro said he would continue “standing up for the freedoms” he was elected to protect.

“I will continue to defend our democracy, defend our fundamental rights, and ensure we continue the legacy of William Penn by building a Commonwealth that is warm and welcoming for all – and where all Pennsylvanians have the freedom to chart their own course and the opportunity to succeed,” he said.

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., urged his fellow Democrats to prepare to fight against President-elect Trump’s “round ups and political prosecutions” Thursday.

Murphy made the statement on social media, arguing that Democrats may be overly focused on diagnosing what happened this week and how Vice President Kamala Harris lost the election.

“Listen, I’m all in for the messaging/strategy biopsy. Need to build a bigger tent; use economic populism as the tentpole; be less judgmental and exclusionary,” Murphy wrote.

“But folks, he might not be lying about the round ups and political prosecutions. Job one is to get ready for that,” he added.

After winning the 2024 presidential election, President-elect Donald Trump’s next big move is to fill his Cabinet with the right leaders that will reinforce his agenda over the next four years.

There are several candidates rumored for each post, but the following individuals are the most talked-about contenders for the top positions:

Secretary of State

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who was a leading contender on Trump’s short-list for vice president, has been floated for the Secretary of State role.

Rubio currently serves as vice chairman of the Select Committee on Intelligence and senior member of the Committee on Foreign Relations – leading on various initiatives that seek to bolster national security.

The Florida senator didn’t rule out taking a position in the administration during a post-election interview.

“I always am interested in serving this country,” Rubio told CNN. “I haven’t had any set conversations with anybody in the Trump administration. Either way, I plan to work with them, whether it’s in the Senate, which is an important place to be, or in some other capacity.”

Sen. Bill Hagerty’s, R-Tenn., name is also being tossed as a potential pick for the Cabinet. Hagerty served as former ambassador to Japan under Trump and has pushed back on the foreign policies of the Biden-Harris administration.

Former Trump national security advisor Robert O’Brien is also in contention for the role, Fox News Digital was told. Since leaving the Trump administration, he went on to co-found the international policy advisory firm American Global Strategies.

Secretary of Defense

Combat-decorated Green Beret Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., could be tapped to lead America’s defense agency. 

Waltz, who previously was CEO of defense contractor Metis Solutions and Pentagon defense policy director under Donald Rumsfeld and Robert Gates, serves on the House China Task Force coordinating policy on China and working to reduce American reliance on Chinese minerals.

Walz serves as the chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness and a member of the Oversight and Accountability Committee and Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

Former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo could return to run the defense agency after serving during Trump’s first term.

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News’ Aubrie Spady and Elizabeth Elkind

Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison hit back at Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., after the left-wing lawmaker said the Democratic Party “abandoned working class people,” leading the working class to abandon the party as Democrats continue to play the blame game following President-elect Trump’s win over Vice President Harris. 

“It should come as no great surprise that a Democratic Party which has abandoned working class people would find that the working class has abandoned them. First, it was the white working class, and now it is Latino and Black workers as well,” Sanders said in the statement. 

Harrison clapped back on social media, declaring Sanders’ remarks were “straight up BS.” 

“Biden was the most-pro worker President of my life time- saved Union pensions, created millions of good paying jobs and even marched in a picket line and some of MVP’s plans would have fundamentally transformed the quality of life and closed the racial wealth gap for working people across this country,” Harrison wrote. “From the child tax credits, to 25k for a down payment for a house to Medicare covering the cost of senior health care in their homes. There are a lot of post election takes and this one ain’t a good one.” 

Trump decisively defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election, winning key swing states including Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan. 

Sanders characterized Harris’ campaign as “disastrous.” 

Fox News Digital’s Alex Nitzberg contributed to this report.

President Biden
praised Vice President Kamala Harris for running an “inspiring” campaign on Thursday.

Biden made the comments from the White House one day after Harris conceded the presidential race to President-elect Donald Trump.

“You can’t love your country only when you win. You can’t love your neighbor only when you agree,” Biden said. “Let me take this time to say something about out election: It is honest. It is fair, and it is transparent. It can be trusted, win or lose.”

Biden went on to thank members of his administration who served with him over the past four years. He urged his administration to “make every day count” for the remaining 74 days of his presidency.

Democratic Rep. Val Hoyle has won re-election to a U.S. House seat representing Oregon, The Associated Press declared Thursday. 

Hoyle, a first-term congresswoman, defeated Republican Monique DeSpain, an Air Force veteran. 

She succeeded longtime Democratic Rep. Peter DeFazio in 2022. 

The race was one of the few competitive ones in deep-blue Oregon, but Democrats held a vast fundraising advantage, and national Republicans were likely to steer money to more marginal races in other parts of the country. 

Hoyle is no stranger to controversy. 

Fox News Digital reported last year that she accepted congressional campaign donations from a handful of cannabis entrepreneurs who were awarded a taxpayer-funded grant she oversaw during her tenure as the commissioner of Oregon’s Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) in 2022. 

Fox News Digital’s Brandon Gillespie and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Pennsylvania’s Senate race between vulnerable Democratic incumbent Bob Casey and Republican challenger David McCormick is still too early to call.

A Casey campaign spokesperson, Maddy McDaniel, said in a statement Thursday that “the count in Pennsylvania is still continuing.”

“Yesterday, the vote margin shrunk by 50,000 votes and this race is now within half a point, the threshold for automatic recounts in Pennsylvania,” the statement said. “With tens of thousands more votes to be counted, we are committed to ensuring every Pennsylvanian’s vote is heard and confident that at the end of that process, Senator Casey will be re-elected.”

McCormick has a roughly 31,000-vote lead as of the latest count at 10:45 a.m. eastern time, though Casey has been picking up votes to close the gap as outstanding votes continue to be counted.

As of that latest count, McCormick has 3,335,987 votes, or 48.95%, while Casey has 3,304,882 votes, or 48.5%.

Casey, the son of a popular former governor, is running for a fourth six-year term. McCormick, his Republican challenger, is a combat veteran and businessman.

Democratic Incumbent Sen. Jacky Rosen has taken the lead over Republican challenger Sam Brown in Nevada’s Senate race Thursday.

No victor has been declared in the race, but Brown had previously been ahead in vote counts since Election Day.

An update to total votes posted late Wednesday night showed Rosen with 644,471 votes, or 47.6% of the total.

Brown now trails with 631,772, or 46.7%, of votes, according to the Associated Press.

Independent Sen. Angus King has won re-election to the U.S. Senate in Maine, The Associated Press declared Thursday.

King, who caucuses with the Democrats, had declared victory over a crowded field on Wednesday, saying he was looking forward to returning to the Senate.

“So, I’m feeling very positive about this. I’ve already heard that this morning from a number of my colleagues, including some Republican colleagues, who are looking forward to working together to try and move forward with a positive agenda for the country,” he told supporters.

King’s closest challenger was Republican Demi Kouzounas, who sat at roughly 34% support on Wednesday.

Republicans are projected to regain the majority in the Senate, while voters in Arizona, Nevada and Pennsylvania still await race calls in those Senate races.

Vice President Kamala Harris won the statewide race in Maine and its 1st District, winning three electoral votes. President-elect Donald Trump won Maine’s 2nd District, picking up one electoral vote.

EXCLUSIVE: Americans could know the balance of power in the House of Representatives as soon as Thursday, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., anticipates.

The top House Republican spoke with Fox News Digital after his party won commanding victories in the White House and Senate on Election Day. The Fox News Decision Desk projected the GOP having a slight edge over Democrats in the House as of Wednesday afternoon.

“I mean, California’s the main state still. You know, in a lot of those close races, our incumbents are leading the way – by small margins, but we knew there would be small margins,” Scalise told Fox News Digital on Wednesday evening.

“We also have some seats that we have a chance to flip that are leaning our way, too. So, you know, we’re watching all of them, and they’re coming down the wire. But I think we’ll know by [Thursday], hopefully.”

“We also have some seats that we have a chance to flip that are leaning our way, too. So, you know, we’re watching all of them, and they’re coming down the wire. But I think we’ll know by [Thursday], hopefully.”

“It appears we’re going to hold the House and flip the Senate,” Scalise said. “You know, it’s going to be a rare opportunity within any government to really focus in January on turning this country around.”

Scalise already signaled part of what that may look like earlier in the day, when he publicly called for the various prosecutions into Trump to end now that he was re-elected president.

He and other Trump allies had long dismissed the criminal probes as a misuse of the federal government, despite some of them leading to grand jury indictments and criminal convictions.

Asked if a Republican-led Washington would look to reform the justice system to make such perceived attacks harder, Scalise said, “There needs to be reform.”

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News’ Elizabeth Elkind

The federal agency responsible for registering Americans for a military draft if the need arises reposted a message suggesting that the U.S. is becoming 1936 Nazi Germany, reports say.  

The post shared by the Selective Service System
on its X account Wednesday said, “For all you stupid f—s out there that still believe military service will be voluntary. Remember Germany 1936,” according to the New York Post. A CBS News reporter also flagged the repost, writing on X, “What’s going on with the @SSS_gov (Selective Service) X account?” 

For more than an hour, the repost remained on the agency’s account, according to the newspaper, before it apparently was taken down. The Selective Service System did not immediately respond Thursday to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.  

The message comes as Democrats and opponents of Donald Trump in recent weeks have tried to cast the president-elect as the second coming of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.  

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News’ Greg Norman.

Fox News senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel discussed
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s potential plan to reform the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and crack down on ultra-processed foods during an appearance on “Fox & Friends.”

“It sounds like [Kennedy] focusing mainly, at least to begin with, on the food part of FDA … with food it’s a mess,” Siegel said. “I’m talking about 75% of the stuff in supermarkets is ultra processed foods.”

Seigel said that ultra processed foods have been “so chemicalized” that it “doesn’t have any connection to the original food it was.”

“It’s why we have an obesity epidemic in this country; 40% of Americans are obese, which leads to all kinds of diseases,” Siegel said.

Kennedy, a former independent presidential candidate, suggested to MSNBC Wednesday that the second Trump administration could eliminate entire departments within the FDA for “corruption.”

“In some categories, their entire departments, like the nutrition department in the FDA, they have to go,” Kennedy said. “They’re not doing their job. They’re not protecting our kids. Why do we have Froot Loops in this country that have 18 or 19 ingredients, and you go to Canada, and it’s got two or three?”

Catholic voters were the biggest winners in the 2024 election, the head of a pro-life group said.

“The victory is huge for Catholic voters. Trump handily won the Catholic vote,” Shawn Carney, founder of 40 Days For Life, told Fox News Digital. 

“I know the Al Smith Dinner gets a lot of attention for that. That certainly wasn’t a wise move for [VP Harris] to not go to that. But I think it’s more than just dressing up in a dress or a tuxedo and going to a fundraiser. We Catholics always get the impression from, frankly, the Biden-Harris administration that they hated Catholics, and they hate religion.

“We see what they’ve tolerated, in some cases, encouraged what’s happened to the Jews. We saw the DOJ target Catholics and target pro-lifers. And you just got that sense that they didn’t like or respect Catholics.”

According to exit polling by Fox News on election night, Catholics across the country swung nine percentage points in Trump’s favor, with Trump winning Catholics by 10 points.

Catholics were evenly split between President Biden and Trump in 2020, with 50% favoring Trump to 49% favoring Biden.

While the Catholic swing exceeded expectations on the national level, the margin of Catholic voters favoring Trump was even larger in some of the most critical swing states.

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News’ Sarah Rumpf-Whitten

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin
acknowledged President-elect Trump’s victory on Thursday and said the Pentagon will ensure a “calm, orderly” transition toward the new administration.

Austin made the announcement in a letter to all U.S. military members on Thursday.

“Our fellow citizens have elected the next President of the United States. The Department will make a calm, orderly, and professional transition to the incoming Trump administration. As it always has, the U.S. military will stand ready to carry out the policy choices of its next Commander in Chief, and to obey all lawful orders from its civilian chain of command,” Austin wrote.

“The U.S. military will continue, in the words of our Constitution, to ‘provide for the common Defense.’ The U.S. military will also continue to stand apart from the political arena; to stand guard over our republic with principle and professionalism; and to stand together with the valued allies and partners who deepen our security. America’s Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Guardians swear an oath to ‘support and defend the Constitution of the United States’-and that is precisely what you will continue to do,” he added.

Fox News’ Bryan Llenas spoke to Philadelphia Democratic Party Chairman Bob Brady, who blames Vice President Kamala Harris and her campaign for not providing them with enough resources and scolded them for “blaming” Biden for the Pennsylvania loss.

“They had no respect, they had no coordination. I never even had a conversation with the lady,” Brady said of Harris campaign chief Jennifer O’Malley Dillon. “They didn’t do the right thing as far as giving us the resources we need, and they want to blame us? And now I understand someone in her camp was blaming [President] Joe Biden? Can you imagine? Blaming Joe Biden for her loss? She lost. He didn’t lose.”

Brady went on to say that his experience with the national Harris campaign is likely similar to the rest of the country.

The Harris campaign lashed out against the comments, saying the organized to knock on roughly 2 million doors in Pennsylvania ahead of Election Day.

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark.,
has requested that his name be withdrawn from consideration for a post within President-elect Trump’s upcoming administration.

Cotton had been widely seen as a front-runner for a top cabinet position in the next Trump administration, but a source close to the senator told Fox News on Thursday that he asked that his name be pulled from consideration

Cotton has two boys under the age of 10 and wants to remain close to them and not upend their lives.  He also feels “confident” about securing the No. 3 position in the new GOP Senate majority, the Republican Conference chair when the election is held next week.

The source said Trump understands Cotton’s decision and knows “he is with him all the way in the Senate.”

Fox News’ Lucas Tomlinson contributed to this report

Trump 2024 campaign senior adviser Danielle Alvarez joined “Fox & Friends First” to discuss President-elect Trump’s plan for day one during the next administration and her reaction to his historic gains with various voting blocs.

Alvarez highlighted Trump’s overperformance in the election across demographics, including women, Latino and Black voters. She also says Trump is already working to flesh out his transition team.

“His day one agenda is going to be unleashing American energy, unleashing American works, securing that border like he did in his first term, and of course as he said, before he enters office he is going to work on brokering peace through strength and restoring our position on the global stage,” Alvarez said.

Late night host Jimmy Kimmel fought back tears on Wednesday while discussing President-elect Donald Trump’s victory, which he described as a “terrible night.”

“Let’s be honest, it was a terrible night for women, for children, for the hundreds of thousands of hardworking immigrants who make this country grow,” Kimmel said, his voice faltering. “For healthcare, for our climate, for science, for journalism, for justice, for free speech.”

“It was a terrible night for poor people, for the middle class, for seniors who rely on social security, for our allies in Ukraine, for NATO, for the truth, and democracy and decency. It was a terrible night for everyone who voted against him, and guess what it was a bad night for everyone who voted for him too, you just don’t realize it yet,” he said.

Those who endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris tried their best to get their candidate votes, but the vice president came up short.

President-elect Donald Trump has been elected as the 47th president of the United States, becoming the first person to win the election following a loss since former President Grover Cleveland.

However, ESPN pundit Stephen A. Smith was not fond of the tactics of some of Harris’ supporters.

“In the end, celebrities, who are worth hundreds of millions, if not billions, who most American citizens feel are incredibly detached from their way of life and their quality of life, were not going to get away and guilt them into doing something different than what their experience says is going on and what they should do about it,” Smith said on a recent edition of his “Stephen A. Smith Show.”

He then played a clip of Oprah Winfrey saying a victory for Trump could mean they would never vote again.

“This is the kind of stuff that alienates an electorate, alienates a voter,” Smith said. “Because the freedom that you tell them you have, you try to confiscate morally by letting them know, you ain’t worth a damn unless you vote the way we say you should vote. Who’s going to go for that in a general election? With an economy rife with inflation, with over 12 million people crossing the border … the value of their dollars dissipating before our very eyes.”

Smith then went against a clip of former first lady Michelle Obama saying Black men voting for Trump was a vote against “us.”

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News’ Ryan Morik

Fox News’ Brooke Singman brought the latest on President-elect Trump’s potential Cabinet appointees and how Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. are weighing in on their prospective positions.

Singman says Ben Carson is being weighed to return once again as the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and Betsy DeVos could return as Secretary of Education. Mike Pompeo too could return as Defense Secretary.

New faces include North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who could serve as Secretary of the Interior or Energy Secretary. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., is in the running for Secretary of State, while Robert F. Kennedy Jr., could serve as Secretary of Agriculture or Health and Human Services.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom shared his remarks on X Wednesday following Vice President Kamala Harris’ loss in the 2024 presidential election.

Newsom expressed
that a second Trump presidency is “not the outcome we wanted,” but the “fight for freedom and opportunity endures.”

“.@KamalaHarris set out to fight to defend our fundamental freedoms and build a country that works for everyone. She stood up for working families, decency, and opportunity,” Newsom wrote. “California will seek to work with the incoming president — but let there be no mistake, we intend to stand with states across our nation to defend our Constitution and uphold the rule of law.”

He continued: “Federalism is the cornerstone of our democracy. It’s the United STATES of America.”