Harris urges public to ‘stay in the fight,’ ‘come back ready’ after the holidays
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(WASHINGTON) — Vice President Kamala Harris acknowledged disappointment around her election loss during her remarks on Tuesday, urging voters to “stay in the fight.”
The speech marks the vice president’s most extensive comments since her concession speech following her loss to President-elect Donald Trump in November.
“Over the past several weeks, since the election, I have received tens of thousands of letters from people across our nation, many of them young leaders, Americans from every walk of life, people of every age, race, faith and political party,” Harris said in Prince George’s County, Maryland,. “These letters share a common theme. Yes, there is disappointment, but there is also resolve for the future.”
“As we then approach the end of this year, many people have come up to me telling me they feel tired … maybe even resigned … that they’re not sure whether they have the strength, much less the desire, to stay in the fight. Let me be very clear: No one can walk away. No one can walk away,” she said. “We must stay in the fight, every one of us, including the fight for an economy that works, not just for those at the very top but for working people — for all Americans. To fight to make sure everyone has a fair shot to pursue their ambitions. The fight for our ideals, including the equality among us, the freedoms to which we are entitled, the dignity that we possess and is possessed by every one of us.
“So we must stay in the fight because that is the responsibility, in my opinion, that comes with the privilege of being an American,” she added.
Harris thanked the audience of “young leaders,” including high school and college students, recent graduates and apprentices who have been active in their local communities, in her remarks at Prince George’s Community College. She was joined by Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller and Sen.-elect Angela Alsobrooks, all Democrats.
“Everyone, please, get some rest over the holidays and spend time with the people you love,” she concluded. “And then I urge you … I challenge you to come back ready, ready to chart our path into the future, chin up, shoulders back and forever impatient for change … and be ready to get back to work fighting for opportunity and freedom, fighting for fairness and dignity, back to work fighting for this country we love and the future we share.”
The speech followed remarks the vice president gave Sunday with President Joe Biden at the Democratic National Committee’s holiday reception and came amid questions about Harris’ political future after she leaves office on Jan. 20.
(WASHINGTON) — Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary, was back on Capitol Hill Tuesday looking to shore up support as he fends off new allegations of misconduct and sexual impropriety.
The allegations were top of mind for Republican senators, one of whom called recent reports “very disturbing.” Several GOP lawmakers suggested Hegseth needed to come forward and address them.
But Hegseth, holding hands with his wife as he walked the halls, continued to ignore questions about the New Yorker report that he was forced to step down from two veteran nonprofit groups — Veterans for Freedom and Concerned Veterans for America — amid accusations of financial mismanagement, sexist behavior and other disqualifying behavior.
The magazine cited what it called a detailed seven-page whistleblower report — compiled by multiple former C.V.A. employees — stating that, at one point, Hegseth had to be restrained while drunk from joining the dancers on the stage of a Louisiana strip club, where he had brought his team. The report also says that Hegseth, who was married at the time, and other members of his management team sexually pursued the organization’s female staffers, the magazine said.
ABC News has not independently confirmed the magazine’s account. Hegseth’s attorney, Tim Parlatore, told The New Yorker the claims were “outlandish.”
“We’re going to meet with every senator that wants to meet with us, across the board, and we welcome their advice as we go through the advice and consent process,” Hegseth told reporters as he arrived for a second day of sitdowns with senators.
Hegseth was asked dozens of questions by reporters, including what he would say to those troubled by the allegations, whether the women who’ve spoken out are lying, whether he had a drinking problem and if the Trump transition team had been aware of the allegations.
He did not respond, including when asked by ABC’s Elizabeth Schulze about GOP Sen. Joni Ernst saying she thinks he should have agreed to a background check.
Trump’s team came out in defense of Hegseth earlier Tuesday. Senior adviser Jason Miller, in an interview on CNN, attempted to brush off the allegations as “innuendo and gossip.”
“So, when it comes to Pete Hegseth, there aren’t any concerns, and we feel very good about his positioning for being confirmed by the Senate,” Miller said. “Now we have to take the process very seriously.”
Republican senators, peppered with questions on Hegseth and other recent Trump picks as they returned to Washington this week, also say they want a “normal” confirmation process to play — which would routinely include FBI background checks.
But some of their statements, so far, stopped short of glowing endorsements.
“I think some of these articles are very disturbing. He obviously has a chance to defend himself here, but some of this stuff is — it’s going to be difficult. Time will tell,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
“Leadership comes from the top, and I want to make sure that every young woman who joins the military space is respected,” Graham said, seemingly referencing Hegseth’s comments against women serving in combat roles.
Sen. Josh Hawley, another member of the key panel, argued Hegseth would have the opportunity to answer all questions during the confirmation process though notably indicated some of his Republican colleagues are “very worried.”
“I would just urge my Republican colleagues, who are very worried, I know a number of them are expressing public concern — it’s fine, but I would just urge them, before they make up their minds, right before they make up their minds, let them have this hearing and listen to let’s go through the process here and give them a shot to answer this and more and to lay out this vision for you,” Hawley said.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville, who stood by Hegseth as a “great” pick on Monday, had similarly suggested Hegseth could face headwinds.
“Obviously, if it’s to a certain degree, people are not going to vote to confirm it,” Tuberville said when asked about the allegations after their meeting. “But what I know when I talk to him about what I’ve read, what I’ve studied and been around him, I’ll vote for him.”
Many suggesting that he needs to come forward and address it.
“Well, these allegations that have come up just in the last 12 to 14 hours are a surprise to all of us, and so yes, he does need to address those because this was not something of which we were aware, nor was President Trump aware of them,” said Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., who met with Hegseth on Monday night with a group of senators.
Asked about his ability to make it through the nomination process, Lummis said she hopes to meet with him one-on-one and deferred to how he addresses the new allegations.
“It depends on how he addresses the issues that have been raised,” Lummis said. “Some of the earlier issues that were raised about an incident in California I think were satisfactorily addressed and would not have interfered with his nomination, but some new things that have come to light in the last 12 to 14 hours are things he needs to address.”
“I have read all the articles, I have seen all the allegations. And Mr. Hegseth is going to have to address it,” Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said.
“I want to know if they’re true, and I want to hear his side of the story. And he’s going to have to address them,” Kennedy added.
Hegseth met Tuesday with Sen. Deb Fischer, one of two Republican women on the Senate Armed Services Committee, and GOP Sen. Bill Hagerty in their respective offices.
He was also scheduled to meet with Republican Sens. Ted Budd, Shelley Moore Capito, Jim Risch and Eric Schmitt.
Schmitt said he was “definitely going to ask questions” about the allegations.
(WASHINGTON) — South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds introduced the “Returning Education Back to Our States Act” on Thursday, signaling a commitment to deliver on President-elect Donald Trump’s vow to dismantle the Department of Education.
In the conservative movement to return education back to local control, Rounds said the legislation would “eliminate” the department while redistributing all critical federal programs to other agencies.
Rounds’ announcement was first reported by Fox News.
“For years, I’ve worked toward removing the federal Department of Education,” the Republican senator wrote in a statement, adding “I’m pleased that President-elect Trump shares this vision, and I’m excited to work with him and Republican majorities in the Senate and House to make this a reality. This legislation is a roadmap to eliminating the federal Department of Education by practically rehoming these federal programs in the departments where they belong, which will be critical as we move into next year.”
In his statement, Rounds said the United States spends too much on education for students’ test scores to be lagging behind other countries in standardized assessments. He called the DOE ineffective and earmarked the department’s responsibilities for the Departments of Interior, Treasury, Health and Human Services, Labor and State, according to the bill text.
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and aid programs under Title VIII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act will be transferred to the Department of Health and Human Services, the Office of Indian Education of the Department of Education will be transferred to the Department of the Interior, the Federal Pell Grant and other higher education loan programs will be transferred to the Department of the Treasury.
According to the bill, the treasury department will allocate Block grants to states for K-12 and postsecondary education. The treasury secretary also has the power to withhold these funds if they are mishandled by the states. The Justice Department will oversee federal civil rights laws that were previously under Title VI.
Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie told ABC News Thursday morning that he would also bring forward legislation to abolish the DOE within the “first few weeks” of the 119th Congress.
“There’ll be one sentence – only thing that will change is the date: The Department of Education shall terminate on December 31, 2026,” Massie told ABC News.
Massie has been pushing to defund the U.S. Department of Education since the start of 2023 when he introduced H.R. 899. Massie’s bill wasn’t voted on in the House last year.
However, education analyst Neal McCluskey at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, argued Massie’s one-sentence bill was not realistic.
“You’ve got to figure out what to do with all the legislation that feeds into the Department of Education,” McCluskey said.
“If Congress were to pass that law that says, abolish the Department of Education, technically the department would go away, but then you’d have all sorts of questions, well, who’s going to administrate or be administrator for all these programs,” he said.
In March 2023, Massie wrote an amendment H.Amendment 124 in H.R. 5, the “Parents Bill of Rights Act” – the House’s signature K-12 education policy – to abolish the department. That amendment failed as all Democrats and 60 House Republicans voted against it.
Here are ways to gut the department
Even as Republicans hold majorities in both chambers next Congress, the Senate typically needs 60 votes to do anything, according to McCluskey. McCluskey said, “There’s no chance they’re going to be at 60, and so it’s going to be tough [to abolish the department legislatively].”
“The Department of Education administers a whole lot of laws, and then those laws have to be changed about who runs student aid and who is tasked with making decisions about canceling student debt, and who decides or who administers Title I and lots of these other federal programs,” McCluskey told ABC News.
“He [President-elect Trump] can certainly use the bully pulpit to drive this a lot. He could provide legislative blueprints if he wanted to. But ultimately this has to come through Congress,” McCluskey underscored.
Meanwhile, Augustus Mays, vice president for partnerships and engagement at the advocacy group The Education Trust, told ABC News that the president-elect could also ask Congress to gut federal programs like Title 1, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), and others, in his congressional budget request.
Public education, particularly in high-need districts, would effectively be drained of millions of dollars, according to Mays.
“It would really cripple the ability to function and aid the support that these students need to really succeed from an academic standpoint,” Mays said.
(WASHINGTON) — For the better part of 2023 and 2024, President Joe Biden plotted a course to Nov. 5, 2024. As the incumbent, the veteran politician was the presumptive Democratic nominee, clinching enough delegates in March, and locked in a tight race with former President Donald Trump.
But instead of spending Election Day preparing for an evening speech, the president’s daily schedule is empty beyond his daily briefing by aides: No public events.
The president and first lady Jill Biden will spend election night watching the election results in the White House residence with “long time aides and senior White House staff,” according to a White House official.
“The President will receive regular updates on the state of races across the country,” the official added.
Monday night, Biden also held calls with Democratic state party chairs across the country. Ben Wikler, the chair of the Wisconsin state Democratic Party, told ABC News’ MaryAlice Parks that the call was “electrifying.”
“It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President,” he wrote, in part, in a letter posted on social media. “And while it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term.”
Biden created last-minute controversy on Oct. 29 when he seemed to call Trump supporters “garbage” during a campaign call hosted by the nonprofit Voto Latino.
“The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters — his — his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it’s un-American. It’s totally contrary to everything we’ve done, everything we’ve been,” Biden said.
Trump quickly seized on the comments, saying Biden “meant it,” though the president posted a clarification, saying his comment was about the comedian who made the joke and “referred to the hateful rhetoric about Puerto Rico spewed by Trump’s supporter at his Madison Square Garden rally as garbage — which is the only word I can think of to describe it.”
“His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable. That’s all I meant to say. The comments at that rally don’t reflect who we are as a nation,” Biden said in the post on X.
