Race to House majority tightens with Republicans inching closer to control
The race for the majority in the House of Representatives is on with each party vying for power and key races yet to be called.
As of Saturday, Republicans held 212 seats and Democrats held 200. A party needs 218 seats for a majority.
The path to victory for a Democratic majority in the House is narrowing, with the party needing to sweep the most contested races to win power.
Many undeclared seats are in the western U.S. or in swing districts, including Arizona, Washington, Oregon, California, Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, Louisiana, Ohio, Maryland, New York, Maine and Alaska.
ALL EYES ON CALIFORNIA AS HOUSE MAJORITY STILL HINGES ON TIGHT RACES
Key House of Representative Races:
Alaska’s at-large congressional district:
Democratic incumbent Rep. Mary Sattler Peltola is in a tight race in Alaska’s at-large congressional district, where she is trailing Republican entrepreneur Nick Begich.
As of Saturday evening, Begich was leading Peltola 49.49% to 45.42% with 76.5% of the vote counted.
Arizona’s 6th Congressional District:
The race in Arizona’s 6th Congressional District is tight, with the Republican candidate barely leading.
Republican Rep. Juan Ciscomani, a first-term lawmaker, was leading former Democratic state lawmaker Kirsten Engel by just 1,795 votes as of Saturday evening. According to Fox News’ Decision Desk, 75.64% of the vote has been counted.
California’s 13th Congressional District:
Republican Rep. John Duarte is leading former Democratic state Assembly member Adam Gray in California’s 13th Congressional District, but the highly contested race remains uncalled as of Saturday.
With 61.7% of the vote, Duarte, a first-term lawmaker, was ahead of Gray. Duarte took the lead with 52% of the vote, and Gray trailed with 48.75% with 61.73% of the vote counted.
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California’s 47th Congressional District:
The race to succeed outgoing Democratic Rep. Katie Porter in California’s 47th Congressional District is also razor-thin.
Republican Scott Baugh, a former Assembly member, and state Sen. Dave Min, a Democrat, are vying for the open seat.
Min has 50% of the vote to Baugh’s 49.8% with 79% of the votes counted.
Colorado’s 8th Congressional District
Rep. Yadira Caraveo, a Democrat, is trailing Republican state Rep. Gabe Evans in Colorado’s 8th Congressional District.
With 86% of the votes counted, Evans was ahead of Caraveo. The lead, if sustained, would be a flip for Republicans.
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has said the House is poised to remain in GOP hands, and he has launched his bid to retain the gavel.
Democrats are holding out hope they could win by a razor-thin majority.
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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., wrote on X Thursday it “has yet to be decided who will control” the House next year, pointing to ongoing ballot counting in Oregon, Arizona and California.
President-elect Trump decides whether two members of past admin will be invited to return
President-elect Donald Trump announced in a public social media post Saturday that he will not be inviting two members of his former administration back to the White House.
Nikki Haley, who served as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, and former Secretary of State and CIA Director Mike Pompeo were both mentioned in the post. The Republicans had been considered two strong candidates for Trump’s new Cabinet.
“I will not be inviting former Ambassador Nikki Haley, or former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, to join the Trump Administration, which is currently in formation,” the president-elect posted on Truth Social early Saturday evening.
Despite the harsh nature of the announcement, Trump added that he enjoyed working with them.
FORMER GEORGIA SENATOR KELLY LOEFFLER TO SERVE ON TRUMP’S INAUGURAL COMMITTEE
“I very much enjoyed and appreciated working with them previously, and would like to thank them for their service to our Country,” he continued. “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Haley, who ran against Trump in the Republican primary earlier this year, has been both publicly supportive and critical of the president-elect in the past. Last week, she wrote a Wall Street Journal op-ed in support of his presidential campaign.
“I don’t agree with Mr. Trump 100% of the time,” Haley wrote. “But I do agree with him most of the time, and I disagree with Ms. Harris nearly all the time. That makes this an easy call.”
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Pompeo, while not one of Trump’s most vocal supporters, has also expressed support for the president-elect in the past. In an open letter with over 400 signatories, including Gold Star families and national security officials, Pompeo endorsed Trump for president.
“From a world at peace under President Trump, we are closer to a third world war than ever before under the Biden-Harris Administration,” the letter, which was written in October, stated. “With multiple escalating wars around the world, an open border that allows terrorists to flood into the American homeland, and malign actors like China operating unabated, U.S. national security has been profoundly damaged by the failed policies of Kamala Harris and Joe Biden.”
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Fox News Digital reached out to Haley and Pompeo for comment, but did not immediately hear back.
‘Come on, America’: Top 10 liberal media meltdowns after Trump’s historic victory
President-elect Donald Trump’s resounding victory on Tuesday led to widespread panic among media anchors and pundits, with many breaking down into tearful monologues and aggrieved rants against American voters.
Jimmy Kimmel fights back tears after Trump victory
Late night host Jimmy Kimmel struggled to hold back tears on Wednesday, describing the election as a “terrible night” for a variety of voting blocks, including women, children, immigrants, the elderly and the middle-class.
“It was a terrible night for everyone who voted against him and guess what? It was a terrible night for everyone who voted for him too, you just don’t realize it yet,” he said.
DEMOCRATS LOOKING TO POINT FINGERS AFTER ‘HUMILIATING’ ELECTION DEFEAT SHOULD START WITH MEDIA: WSJ COLUMNIST
CBS News reporter chokes up in sit down with Stephen Colbert
Kimmel was not the only one with tears in his eyes following Election Day. CBS News’ John Dickerson choked up during a post-election appearance on the “Late Show,” telling host Stephen Colbert he would struggle not to think about his boys when describing the results to young Americans.
He suggested that young people in the United States can get on one of two hypothetical buses that will take them to a destination they believe is meaningful. The first bus, Dickerson said, has people that just want to be seen and be given an opportunity.
“Then there are other people on the bus engaged in the same journey who are there absolutely just for themselves, to get power, to give themselves just more riches and more control over things,” he added.
Colbert claims majority of voters ‘don’t care’ about democracy
“Hey there, how are you doing? If you watch this show regularly, I’m guessing you’re not doing great. Yeah, me neither,” Colbert began his show Wednesday night.
Later in his monologue, the liberal comedian shamed the majority of Americans who backed Trump in the election.
NEW YORK TIMES CALLS TRUMP VICTORY A ‘GRAVE THREAT’ TO THE REPUBLIC
“I wish, you wish, so many of us wish this hadn’t happen, but that’s not for us to decide. This is a democracy.. And in this democracy, the majority has spoken, and they said they don’t care that much about democracy,” Colbert told his far-left audience.
MSNBC host says Americans decided to ‘F around and find out’
Following the election, MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle said Americans were gambling with the country’s future by choosing Trump as their next president.
During “The 11th Hour,” Ruhle said Americans have let “misinformation” become the new accepted form of “information,” name-dropping Elon Musk and claiming the X owner bought the platform “exclusively to become a propaganda machine.”
She also touted the country’s “great economic recovery,” but lamented voters for simply not feeling the “vibes.”
“What will the future hold now that America has just decided that we’re going to F around and find out?,” Ruhle asked.
‘The View’ calls Trump victory ‘pathetic’ and ‘disturbing’
The women of ABC’s “The View” were unsurprisingly shocked and agitated after Vice President Kamala Harris lost the 2024 Presidential Election.
“It’s pathetic,” Joy Behar said. “There are no checks and balances. A completely intelligent, qualified woman lost to a guy who was simulating sex with a microphone. I mean, come on, America.”
Co-Host Sunny Hostin felt “profoundly disturbed by the results,” and said she feared for the work-class, the elderly and even her own daughter—who she claimed, “now has less rights than I have.”
HARRIS FORMALLY CONCEDES ONE DAY AFTER TRUMP’S SWEEPING VICTORY
She also hypothesized that the election was a “a referendum on cultural resentment” and expressed concern that Trump would set up “internment camps.”
On Thursday, Hostin would go on to insist that “sexism and misogyny” were to blame for Trump winning the Latino vote in a Texas county that Hillary Clinton won in 2016.
Claire McCaskill cries on-air while looking back at Harris’ candidacy
MSNBC analyst and former Democratic senator Claire McCaskill cried after watching Vice President Kamala Harris’ concession speech on Wednesday.
“I’m so proud of her,” she said. “I don’t think people realize how hard it is to get to where she was.”
Joy Reid casts blame for Trump win on White women
On MSNBC, Joy Reid essentially blamed White women for Harris’ North Carolina loss.
“Black voters came through for Kamala Harris, White women voters did not. That is what appears happened in that state,” Reid told viewers.
“This will be the second opportunity that White women in this country have had to change the way that they interact with the patriarchy,” she continued. “If people aren’t receptive to it, and if people vote more party line, or more on race than on gender, and on protecting their gender, there’s really not much more that you can do.”
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Van Jones gives tearful monologue on people ‘hurting’ after Harris defeat
CNN’s Van Jones got emotional Tuesday night thinking about people who were “hurting” because of the results.
“I’m thinking about the people who are not a part of anybody’s elite who are hurting tonight. There are African-American women who know a little bit about being talked down to, who know a little bit about having their economic dreams crushed, who try to dream a big dream over the past couple of months, and tonight they’re trading in a lot of hope for a lot of hurt,” Jones said.
“They were hoping that maybe, this time, this time, one of their own could be seen as worthy,” Jones continued. “Once again they’re facing rejection.”
Jones then told CNN viewers that Black women aren’t the only people “hurting.”
“If you’re a parent of a trans kid, your child’s face was used as a springboard to power for somebody. That doesn’t feel good,” Jones said.
CNN’s Acosta on Latino Trump supporters: ‘Why would they do this to themselves?’
CNN host Jim Acosta lectured Latino Trump supporters for voting “against their own self-interests” by backing President-elect Donald Trump in the 2024 election.
“A lot of folks are wondering why would Latinos vote for Donald Trump if that means he might deport abuela, he might deport members of their household,” he said.
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Acosta later repeatedly questioned Luis Figueroa, the vice chair of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly on if he wanted to see illegal immigrants “rounded up and put in camps.”
“Isn’t that what you voted for?,” he asked.
Al Sharpton labels Black voters sexist, blames loss on misogyny
During two separate segments, MSNBC host Al Sharpton claimed that misogyny and racism among voters may have cost Harris the election.
“Some of the most misogynist things I’ve heard going on during this get out the vote tour came from Black men!” he said.
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The previous morning, Sharpton insisted that there is still a lot of racism and gender bias in the United States.
“I think for us to ignore that and not try to bring that front and center so we can heal that would mean that we would end up in the same place. Kamala Harris is a woman of color in an interracial marriage, running as a woman to be the head of state. That is something that a lot of Americans are not ready to deal with,” he said.
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FEMA head called before Congress after workers told to avoid homes with Trump signs
The House of Representatives Oversight Committee has launched an investigation into the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) after an employee was terminated for instructing hurricane relief workers in Florida to avoid homes with Trump flags.
Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., chairperson of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, announced Saturday he sent FEMA Director Deanne Criswell a letter requesting she testify at a hearing to answer questions about the agency’s response to hurricanes Helene and Milton.
In the letter, Comer said the hearing would “permit members to investigate recent reports that a FEMA official instructed relief workers to bypass hurricane-impacted homes displaying campaign signs for President Trump.”
“In the wake of the recent major disasters that impacted Americans of all political persuasions, it is critical that FEMA adheres to its disaster relief mission,” he wrote.
FEMA OFFICIAL DIRECTED HURRICANE RELIEF WORKERS TO AVOID HOMES WITH TRUMP SIGNS AS AGENCY CONDUCTS CLEANUP
The Oversight Committee’s investigation followed Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’s announcement Friday that he was launching an investigation into the agency.
“The blatant weaponization of government by partisan activists in the federal bureaucracy is yet another reason why the Biden-Harris administration is in its final days,” DeSantis said. “At my direction, the Division of Emergency Management is launching an investigation into the federal government’s targeted discrimination of Floridians who support Donald Trump.
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“New leadership is on the way to D.C., and I’m optimistic that these partisan bureaucrats will be fired.”
The investigations were promptly launched after FEMA confirmed to Fox News Digital that an employee had instructed aid workers to deny relief to residents who had Trump campaign signs at their homes. The Daily Wire was the first to report it.
FEMA OFFICIAL FIRED FOR DIRECTING HURRICANE RELIEF AWAY FROM TRUMP SUPPORTERS’ HOMES
“We take our mission to help everyone before, during and after disasters seriously. This employee has been terminated, and we have referred the matter to the Office of Special Counsel,” Criswell said. “I will continue to do everything I can to make sure this never happens again.”
WATCH:
A FEMA spokesperson told Fox News Friday the agency is “deeply disturbed” by the employee’s actions and that it was an “isolated incident.”
“FEMA helps all survivors regardless of their political preference or affiliation,” the spokesperson said.
“The employee who issued this guidance had no authority and was given no direction to tell teams to avoid these homes, and we are reaching out to the people who may have not been reached as a result of this incident,” the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson added that the agency has helped more than 365,000 households affected by hurricanes Helene and Milton in Florida and provided nearly $900 million in direct assistance to survivors.”
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“We are horrified that this took place and therefore have taken extreme actions to correct this situation and have ensured that the matter was addressed at all levels.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to FEMA for comment.
Editorial board points finger at VP Harris for Biden ‘coverup’ after election defeat
The Washington Post Editorial Board declared this week that Vice President Kamala Harris’ coverup of President Biden’s mental decline is one of the reasons her party suffered major defeats on Election Day.
In an editorial published on Friday, the board argued that Harris and the White House’s constant denial of Biden’s mental acuity issues, destroyed the party’s “believability” and Americans voted accordingly.
The subheadline read, “Democrats’ coverup of the president’s decline hurt their claim of being the party of truth.”
“The credibility problems that Ms. Harris’ repeated defense of Mr. Biden’s sharpness illustrated were part of the reason Democrats met defeat,” the board wrote.
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The editorial began by criticizing Harris for denying special counsel Robert K. Hur’s claim from February that Biden is “sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.” Hur made the assessment in his report on his investigation into Biden’s classified documents case.
“Vice President Kamala Harris didn’t just call special counsel Robert K. Hur’s report ‘gratuitous, inaccurate and inappropriate’ when it came out in February. She claimed he was ‘clearly politically motivated’ and impugned his integrity,” the editorial board recalled, providing an example of just how far prominent Democratic Party members would go to hide Biden’s health problems.
“Speaking to reporters, Ms. Harris reacted furiously: ‘The way that the president’s demeanor in that report was characterized could not be more wrong,’” the board wrote, adding that “Mr. Hur has been repeatedly vindicated during the intervening nine months.”
The editorial continued, “It’s now acknowledged almost universally that Mr. Biden should not have sought a second term, but the Democratic establishment denied the obvious and propped him up politically, even as evidence of his decline mounted.”
The party only admitted the truth when Biden’s debate performance forced it to, the board explained, arguing that this late about face revealed the Democrats’ problems with credibility to the American people.
“Democrats tried to make fidelity to science, facts and truth their distinguishing characteristic as a party. The White House’s aggressive coverup of Mr. Biden’s decline undermined that claim,” the editorial stated, following up by describing the extent of this coverup.
KAMALA HARRIS’ BUNGLED ANSWER ON ‘THE VIEW’ ABOUT BIDEN SEEN AS TURNING POINT IN CAMPAIGN
“Mr. Biden’s allies concocted terms such as ‘cheap fakes’ to dismiss embarrassing video clips in which Mr. Biden appeared dazed, confused, tired and inaudible. Allies of the president frequently labeled content they didn’t approve of as “disinformation,” cheapening the term. When a few journalists reported accurately on Mr. Biden’s decline, the White House fed critical talking points about their stories to others in the media.”
“The harder they spun, the less believable they became,” The Post stated.
And even though Democratic figures admitted to Biden’s problems in forcing him to step away from re-election, the editorial board described how the Biden administration still “covered for him” “to the bitter end.” It called out White House stenographers for changing the transcript to try and lessen the damage of his “garbage” comments from recent weeks.
“All of this took a toll on believability. Polls showed more voters believed that Mr. Trump would actually implement his campaign promises than Ms. Harris would hers,” the editorial board stated.
The piece did clarify The Post’s belief that Harris’ apparent avoidance of candor on Biden’s health was not the “the decisive factor in this week’s election,” however it said it reveals that Democratic Party members need to “live up to their billing as truth-tellers” in order to “resuscitate their brand.”
The Harris campaign and the White House did not reply to Fox News Digital‘s request for comment.
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Democrat congressman facing calls to resign for speaking out against trans athletes
Massachusetts Democratic U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton was criticized by members of his own party in the last day after speaking out against the left’s stance on transgender athletes in girls and women’s sports.
In an interview with The New York Times, Moulton expressed his feelings on the issue, citing his position as a father to two daughters.
“Democrats spend way too much time trying not to offend anyone rather than being brutally honest about the challenges many Americans face,” he said. “I have two little girls. I don’t want them getting run over on a playing field by a male or formerly male athlete, but as a Democrat I’m supposed to be afraid to say that.”
Moulton doubled down on the stance in a statement released Friday evening.
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“I stand firmly in my belief for the need for competitive women’s sports to put limits on the participation of those with the unfair physical advantages that come with being born male,” his statement said. “I am also a strong supporter of the civil rights of all Americans, including transgender rights.
“I will fight, as I always have, for the rights and safety of all citizens. These two ideas are not mutually exclusive, and we can even disagree on them. Yet there are many who, shouting from the extreme left corners of social media, believe I have failed the unspoken Democratic Party purity test.
“We did not lose the 2024 election because of any trans person or issue. We lost, in part, because we shame and belittle too many opinions held by too many voters and that needs to stop. Let’s have these debates now, determine a new strategy for our party since our existing one failed, and then unite to oppose the Trump agenda wherever it imperils American values.”
The comments have prompted vicious condemnations against Moulton, many by his Democratic allies.
Massachusetts state Rep. Manny Cruz suggested Moulton’s stance was “a betrayal” in a post on X.
“Congressman Moulton, your commitment then was protecting the LGBTQ community, standing up for their rights, and compassion. Now, on a political whim, our Congressman has betrayed the words he signed onto just last year by scapegoating transgender youth in sports for the failures of the national Democratic Party and leaders to win the presidential election. You said you ‘would stand with Nagly and with all our community … against all forms of bigotry, discrimination, bullying, and harassment,'” Cruz wrote.
Salem city Councilor Kyle Davis, another Democrat, called for Moulton to resign.
“I’m not looking for an apology from [Moulton], I’m looking for a resignation,” Davis wrote in a post on X.
Massachusetts state Sen. Jamie Eldridge also condemned Moulton in a post on X and discouraged other Democrats in his state from following Moulton’s lead.
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“Do not abandon our values,” Eldridge wrote in a message to fellow Massachusetts Democrats.
Moulton is not the only Democrat who has pulled away from supporting biological males in women’s and girls sports in the recent election cycle. In the same New York Times article Moulton was cited in, New York Democratic U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi also spoke out against it.
“The Democrats have to stop pandering to the far left,” Suozzi said. “I don’t want to discriminate against anybody, but I don’t think biological boys should be playing in girls sports.
“Democrats aren’t saying that, and they should be.”
Democrats who have previously voted for laws that would enable transgender inclusion in women’s sports have publicly denounced their support for the concept in the weeks leading up to Election Day. These Democrats include Texas Rep. Colin Allred, Texas Rep. Vicente Gonzalez and Alaska Rep. Mary Peltola.
Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown recently defended himself when being linked to the issue by claiming he was never in favor of allowing biological males in women’s sports.
“In Ohio, this has already been banned,” Brown boasted in a campaign ad released in October.
However, some in the party have continued to advocate for transgender inclusion and the right of transgender athletes to compete against biological females.
Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez attacked the Green Party presidential ticket after the party’s vice presidential nominee, Butch Ware, spoke out against transgender athletes in women’s sports.
“I don’t think that biological males should play in female sports,” Ware said in a video posted to X by lawyer and columnist Olayemi Olurin. “I think it gives an unfair, you know, competitive advantage.”
Ocasio-Cortez responded to the video, labeling the ticket “predatory.”
The Biden-Harris administration issued a sweeping rule in April that clarified that Title IX’s ban on “sex” discrimination in schools covers discrimination based on gender identity, sexual orientation and “pregnancy or related conditions.” And while the administration insisted the regulation does not address athletic eligibility, multiple experts presented evidence to Fox News Digital in June that it would ultimately put more biological men in women’s sports.
Ocasio-Cortez argued the reform did not go far enough in favor of transgender people and, specifically, transgender athletes who want to compete in women’s sports.
“Absolutely no reason for the Biden admin to do this. It is indefensible and embarrassing. The admin can still walk this back, and they should. It’s a disgrace,” Ocasio wrote in response to a report that the change would allow schools to bar transgender athletes from women’s and girls sports.
Bills like the Equality Act and a Transgender Bill of Rights have been proposed and co-sponsored by Democrats, which would help enable transgender inclusion in women’s sports at a national level.
President-elect Trump has suggested a federal ban of transgender inclusion in women’s and girls sports.
In June, a survey conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago asked respondents to weigh in on whether transgender athletes of both sexes should be permitted to participate in sports leagues that correspond to their preferred gender identity instead of their biological sex.
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Sixty-five percent answered that it should either be never or rarely allowed. When those polled were asked specifically about adult transgender female athletes competing on women’s sports teams, 69% opposed it.
The United Nations released study findings that say nearly 900 biological females have been denied medals in sports because they were beaten out by transgender athletes.
The study, titled “Violence against women and girls in sports,” said that more than 600 athletes did not medal in more than 400 competitions in 29 different sports, totaling over 890 medals, according to information obtained up to March 30.
“The replacement of the female sports category with a mixed-sex category has resulted in an increasing number of female athletes losing opportunities, including medals, when competing against males,” the report said.