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Army Secretary Replaces Patel as Head of A.T.F.

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Army Secretary Replaces Patel as Head of A.T.F.

Kash Patel, the F.B.I. director, has been removed as the interim head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and replaced by Daniel Driscoll, the Army secretary, four people with knowledge of the switch said on Wednesday. The highly unusual move places a civilian military leader in charge of a domestic law enforcement entity.

White House officials decided to make the switch in late February, just after Mr. Patel was named the A.T.F.’s director, because the responsibilities of running two agencies was seen as too time-consuming, according to an official briefed on the situation. Mr. Driscoll was selected because he was one of the few Senate-confirmed Trump appointees available to take over, the person said.

Mr. Driscoll, an Iraq war veteran who is close to Vice President JD Vance, learned over the past week that he was being handed the reins of the small, embattled federal agency responsible for enforcing the nation’s gun laws, officials said.

Mr. Driscoll was traveling in Germany on Wednesday and was not immediately available for comment. But a Defense Department official confirmed that Mr. Driscoll had assumed interim leadership of the A.T.F. with very little notice in recent days. The official did not know exactly when Mr. Driscoll had assumed his additional duties.

A Justice Department spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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The decision was announced to the A.T.F.’s supervisors on Wednesday morning. It left many of the agency’s staff members stunned and concerned that the switch would mean a significant recalibration of their mission at a time when hundreds of firearms investigators have been diverted to support immigration enforcement efforts.

While the appointment of Mr. Patel, a former Trump campaign surrogate, to run the A.T.F. was viewed with skepticism, the offloading of a component agency of the Justice Department to a Pentagon official is something entirely new.

The move comes at a moment of chaos at the largely leaderless and rudderless A.T.F.

Mr. Patel has spent most of his time running the F.B.I. and the Justice Department has proposed merging the A.T.F. with the Drug Enforcement Administration, a plan that has left the gun agency’s career leadership demoralized. That move, however, is unlikely to take place anytime soon.

Some fear that the plan to merge the D.E.A. and the A.T.F. might be a pretext for gutting both agencies, two of the smallest and most underfunded entities in the Justice Department. The replacement of Mr. Patel is unlikely to improve morale.

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This week, Attorney General Pam Bondi, under pressure from gun rights groups, announced plans to eliminate the A.T.F.’s “zero tolerance” policy, put in place four years ago, that strips the federal licenses of firearms dealers found to have repeatedly violated federal laws and regulations, people briefed on the move said.

Ms. Bondi also ordered Mr. Patel to review two other major policies enacted under the Biden administration, with an eye toward scrapping both. One is a ban on so-called pistol braces used to convert handguns into rifle-like weapons, and the second is a rule requiring background checks on private gun sales.

Eric Schmitt contributed reporting.

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Far-left firebrand spends eye-popping amount of campaign cash on luxury hotels, ‘top-tier’ limo services

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Far-left firebrand spends eye-popping amount of campaign cash on luxury hotels, ‘top-tier’ limo services

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FIRST ON FOX: Federal Election Commission filings show that progressive Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, spent nearly $75,000 on luxury hotels, transportation and security this year in cities across the U.S.

Crockett’s filings show luxury hotel and transportation expenses in Martha’s Vineyard, Chicago, New York City, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Los Angeles, among other major cities despite representing Texas’ 30th Congressional District, which includes Dallas.

In total, Crockett’s filings show her campaign spending $25,748.87 since January on high-end hotels and limousine services.

The hotel expenses include $4,175.01 at the Ritz-Carlton and $2,304.79 at The Luxury Collection. Other hotel expenses include $5,326.52 to the West Hollywood Edition in Los Angeles, $1,173.92 to the Times Square Edition in New York City, over $2,000 to the Cosmopolitan and Aria resort in Las Vegas and $2,703.14 to the Edgartown Inn and $3,160.93 at The Coco, both in Martha’s Vineyard.

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JASMINE CROCKETT DOWNPLAYS JAY JONES’ MURDEROUS TEXTS AS A ‘DISTRACTION’

Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, during an interview on “The View.” (Screenshot/The View)

Additionally, Crockett’s campaign paid Chicago-based limousine service Transportation 4 U $2,728.00 for travel, as well as $2,310.30 to DCA Car LLC, a premium car and limousine service, and $1,254.00 to Bay Area Limousine.

In its client gallery on Yelp, Transportation 4 U, which says it specializes in providing “top-tier limousine experiences tailored to your needs,” posted a picture of Crockett with the caption: “We were honored to provide transportation services for Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett during her visit to Chicago.” Crockett is pictured smiling and dressed casually in a red sweater.

In that same time frame, Crockett’s campaign also spent nearly $50,000 on security expenses despite repeatedly calling for defunding the police. In 2021, while Crockett was serving in the Texas House of Representatives, she said, “The Defund movement seeks to actually bring about healing and finally invest in our communities to make them safer, addressing the root causes of crime and by allowing the professionals to do their respective jobs. Defund is about finally being smart on crime. Defund is about lightening the load for our offices of all things they didn’t sign up for. Defund is about finally being fiscally responsible when it comes to policing in this state.”

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Fox News Digital reached out to Crockett for comment on the expenses but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

TEXAS REP JASMINE CROCKETT WEIGHS SENATE BID AFTER REDISTRICTING THREATENS HOUSE SEAT

The Hollywood sign on Mount Lee on Sept. 9, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.  (Kirby Lee/Getty Images)

Crockett, one of the most recognizable and outspoken members of the Democratic Party, has said she is “seriously weighing” a possible run for the U.S. Senate against Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.

Speaking with Politico in October, Crockett said, “I am seriously weighing it to the extent that I’m about to spend a lot of money to get data.”

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Crockett said she has already had conversations with a possible campaign leader and that her decision on whether to run will depend on what the data is and who the Republican nominee will be.

Currently, Cornyn, who is running to serve a fifth term, is in a bitter primary battle against Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton and Houston-area Rep. Wesley Hunt.

Crockett has been embroiled in several controversies this year, perhaps most notably her attacking Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who is paraplegic and uses a wheelchair, “Governor Hot Wheels.”

‘VERY TALENTED’: HARRIS REVEALS JASMINE CROCKETT WAS PART OF ‘SECRET PROJECT’ OF LAWMAKERS SHE WAS MENTORING

Far-left Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-TX, mocked a disabled, wheelchair-bound Republican governor, calling him “Governor Hot Wheels” during a pro-LGBTQ benefit dinner. (Getty Images)

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“Y’all know we got Governor Hot Wheels down there – come on now! And the only thing hot about him is that he is a hot a– mess, honey,” Crockett said.

Crockett later said her statements were misinterpreted and that she was not mocking Abbott’s disability.

She said in a statement posted on X, “I wasn’t thinking about the governor’s condition—I was thinking about the planes, trains, and automobiles he used to transfer migrants into communities led by Black mayors, deliberately stoking tension and fear among the most vulnerable.”

This statement surfaced as Crockett was already facing heavy criticism for other recent statements calling for Elon Musk to be “taken down” and for Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, to be “knocked over the head, like hard.”

In addition to that comment, Crockett recently came to the defense of Jay Jones, the Democratic Virginia Attorney General-elect who ignited a firestorm after his texts that privately fantasized about murdering a Republican lawmaker surfaced.

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Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, praised the Democratic Party for not ditching Virginia Attorney General-elect Jay Jones during his race after his controversial texts leaked.  (Arturo Holmes/Getty; The Washington Post/Getty)

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“And I was very excited to see that he was able to pull off the win. Not that I know him – I’ve never met him, I’ve never talked to him – but because it seems like people did not get caught up in the distractions,” Crockett told host Roland Martin.

“Listen, there were still Democrats that were talking about it,” she continued. “And my deal was, say what you got to say, denounce what he did, but in this moment, do you trust this Republican attorney general to stand up when it is the state legislature that decides that they need to fight fire with fire and give us more seats out of Virginia to go to the U.S. House because they’re trying to balance out this power struggle that Trump is on?”

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Republicans take a victory lap as House gathers to end shutdown

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Republicans take a victory lap as House gathers to end shutdown

President Trump and Republican lawmakers took a victory lap on Tuesday after securing bipartisan support to reopen the government, ending the longest shutdown in U.S. history without ceding ground to any core Democratic demands.

House members were converging on Washington for a final vote expected as early as Wednesday, after 60 senators — including seven Democrats and an independent — advanced the measure on Monday night. Most Democratic lawmakers in the House are expected to oppose the continuing resolution, which does not include an extension of Affordable Care Act tax credits that had been a central demand during the shutdown negotiations.

The result, according to independent analysts, is that premiums will more than double on average for more than 20 million Americans who use the healthcare marketplace, rising from an average of $888 to $1,904 for out-of-pocket payments annually, according to KFF.

Democrats in the Senate who voted to reopen the government said they had secured a promise from Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota, that they would get a vote on extending the tax credits next month.

But the vote is likely to fail down party lines. And even if it earned some Republican support, House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, has made no promises he would give the measure a vote in the lower chamber.

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An end to the shutdown comes at a crucial time for the U.S. aviation industry ahead of one of the busiest travel seasons around the Thanksgiving holiday. The prolonged closure of the federal government led federal employees in the sector to call out sick in large numbers, prompting an unprecedented directive from the Federation Aviation Administration that slowed operations at the nation’s biggest airports.

Lawmakers are racing to vote before federal employees working in aviation safety miss yet another paycheck this week, potentially extending frustration within their ranks and causing further delays at airports entering the upcoming holiday week.

It will be the first time the House conducts legislative work in over 50 days, a marathon stretch that has resulted in a backlog of work for lawmakers on a wide range of issues, from appropriations and stock trading regulations to a discharge petition calling for the release of files in the Jeffrey Epstein investigation.

“We look forward to the government reopening this week so Congress can get back to our regular legislative session,” Johnson told reporters Monday. “There will be long days and long nights here for the foreseeable future to make up for all this lost time that was imposed upon us.”

To reopen the government, the spending package needs to pass the House, where Republicans hold a slim majority and Democrats have vowed to vote against a deal that does not address healthcare costs.

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Still, Trump and Republican leaders believe they have enough votes to push it through the chamber and reopen the government later in the week.

Trump has called the spending package a “very good” deal and has indicated that he will sign it once it gets to his desk.

At a Veterans Day event on Tuesday, Trump thanked Thune and Johnson for their work on their work to reopen the government. Johnson was in the crowd listening to Trump’s remarks.

“Congratulations to you and to John and to everybody on a very big victory,” Trump said in a speech at Arlington National Cemetery. “We are opening back our country. It should’ve never been closed.”

While Trump lauded the measure as a done deal, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, the top Democrat in the chamber, said his party would still try to delay or tank the legislation with whatever tools it had left.

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“House Democrats will strongly oppose any legislation that does not decisively address the Republican healthcare crisis,” Jeffries said in a CNN interview Tuesday morning.

Just like in the Senate, California Democrats in the House are expected to vote against the shutdown deal because it does not address the expiring healthcare subsidies.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi said the shutdown deal reached in the Senate “fails to meet the needs of America’s working families” and said she stood with House Democratic leaders in opposing the legislation.

“We must continue to fight for a responsible, bipartisan path forward that reopens the government and keeps healthcare affordable for the American people,” Pelosi said in a social media post.

California Republicans in the House, meanwhile, have criticized Democrats for trying to stop the funding agreement from passing.

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“These extremists only care about their radical base regardless of the impact to America,” Rep. Ken Calvert of Corona said in a social media post.

Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Rocklin) publicly called on Johnson to negotiate with Democrats on healthcare during the shutdown. He said in an interview last month that he thought there was “a lot of room” to address concerns on both sides of the aisle on how to address the rising costs of healthcare.

Kiley said Monday that he was proposing legislation with Rep. Sam Liccardo (D-San José) that proposed extending the Affordable Care Act tax credits for another two years.

He said the bill would “stop massive increase in healthcare costs for 22 million Americans whose premium tax credits are about to expire.”

“Importantly, the extension is temporary and fully paid for, so it can’t increase the deficit,” Kiley said in reference to a frequent concern cited by Republicans that extending the credits would contribute to the national debt.

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Stefanik receives top Jewish award days after announcing New York governor bid at Manhattan gala

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Stefanik receives top Jewish award days after announcing New York governor bid at Manhattan gala

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Rep. Elise Stefanik on Monday night accepted the World Jewish Congress’ highest honor, vowing to continue fighting antisemitism and defending what she called “the very Western values that have shaped America” just days after announcing her bid for New York governor.

Speaking before 400 guests at the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan, Stefanik received the Theodor Herzl Award from Ronald Lauder, the businessman and former U.S. ambassador to Austria under President Ronald Reagan. Established in 2012, the award is considered the World Jewish Congress’ highest honor and recognizes individuals who embody Herzl’s vision for a secure and self-reliant Jewish people.

“I want to thank my friend Ambassador Ronald Lauder for his steadfast leadership and his extraordinary commitment to the cause of Jewish unity and security,” Stefanik said. “Under his leadership, the World Jewish Congress has carried forward Theodor Herzl’s vision — not only of a Jewish homeland, but of a Jewish people strong, self-reliant, and respected among the nations.”

“It is deeply humbling to receive the Theodor Herzl Award from the World Jewish Congress — an organization that, for generations, has stood as the diplomatic voice and moral conscience of the Jewish people across the globe,” she continued. “You have defended Jewish communities in every corner of the world, fought antisemitism in every form, and strengthened the unbreakable bonds between Israel and the global community of free nations.”

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KEY TRUMP ALLY JUMPS INTO NEW YORK GOVERNOR’S RACE DAYS AFTER SHOCKING MAMDANI MAYORAL VICTORY

Rep. Elise Stefanik accepted the World Jewish Congress’ Theodor Herzl Award from Ronald Lauder at the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan on Nov. 10, 2025. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Stefanik described her fight against antisemitism in Congress and on college campuses, recalling her viral 2023 hearing with the presidents of Harvard, MIT, and the University of Pennsylvania.

“Does calling for the genocide of Jews violate your university’s code of conduct?” she recalled asking what she said was a moral question, not a political one. “I expected them to say ‘yes.’ But one after another after another said, ‘it depends on the context.’ And the world heard. Let me be clear. It does NOT depend on the context.”

She said that exchange “set off a global reckoning and delivered accountability in higher education that we are still just beginning.”

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STEFANIK DECRIES HOCHUL AS ‘WORST GOVERNOR IN AMERICA’ IN FIERY 2026 CAMPAIGN LAUNCH

Rep. Elise Stefanik delivered remarks after receiving the World Jewish Congress’ highest honor on Nov. 10, 2025, pledging to continue fighting antisemitism and defending Western values. (Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg via Getty Images )

Turning to New York, Stefanik said the state “is not just a city and state in crisis — it is the epicenter of the battle for the very Western values that have shaped America.”

“Eighty years after Kristallnacht, we must not stay silent. I will continue to call out Antisemitism. Bigotry. Jew-hatred. Anti-Americanism,” she said. “This moral fight is particularly important in New York — the beloved home to more Jews than anywhere outside of Israel — where antisemitic incidents hit an all-time high last year, the highest count in the nation.”

“My friends, Theodor Herzl’s story is not ancient history,” she said. “That is the spirit I see in this room tonight — the spirit that built Israel, the spirit that has always animated the Jewish people, and the spirit that will save New York.”

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STEFANIK TO RELEASE NEW BOOK ON COLLEGE ANTISEMITISM AS SHE EYES BID FOR NY GOVERNOR

Miriam Adelson appeared to throw her support behind Rep. Elise Stefanik, who is running for New York governor, on Nov. 9, 2025, during the Zionist Organization of America’s Justice Louis D. Brandeis Award Dinner in New York. (Dominic Gwinn/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images and Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The award comes a day after billionaire philanthropist Miriam Adelson voiced support for Rep. Elise Stefanik’s New York gubernatorial bid during the Zionist Organization of America’s Justice Louis D. Brandeis Award Dinner.

Stefanik, chairwoman of the House Republican Leadership, was honored with the Zionist Organization of America’s Mortimer Zuckerman Maccabee Warrior Award for her efforts to combat antisemitism.

Introducing her at the gala, Adelson lauded Stefanik for confronting university leaders over antisemitism and invoked her late husband Sheldon Adelson’s insistence on moral conviction.

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Adelson described Stefanik as “a great leader,” crediting her for defending “the Jewish people, Israel and the Free World.”

Stefanik launched her long-anticipated Republican campaign for New York governor on Friday, entering the 2026 race as she challenges Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Fox News Digital has reached out to Hochul’s office for a comment.

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Stefanik, who once criticized President Donald Trump during his first presidential run, has since become one of his staunchest defenders in Congress.

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Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.

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