Politics
Haley reveals pitch to DeSantis voters, pledges she'll 'absolutely' move on to South Carolina after NH primary
EXETER, N.H. – Nikki Haley has a message for voters who were supporting Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the Republican presidential nomination race.
“What we say to DeSantis voters is it’s time for a new generation. It’s time to stop the chaos. It’s time to stop the noise and get America back on track,” Haley told Fox News Digital on Sunday ahead of a rally in the historic town of Exeter on the New Hampshire Seacoast.
The former South Carolina governor who later served as U.N. ambassador in former President Trump’s administration was interviewed a couple of hours after DeSantis suspended his campaign and endorsed Trump, the clear frontrunner in the 2024 GOP race.
RON DESANTIS ENDORSES DONALD TRUMP AS HE DROPS OUT OF THE 2024 GOP PRESIDENTIAL RACE
Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley speaks during a campaign event at Exeter High School in Exeter, N.H., on Sunday. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
“We know that DeSantis supporters love America, and we know that they want a new generational conservative leader,” Haley, 52, emphasized. “And so what we’re saying is we’re going to fight for you. We’re going to earn your support.”
Trump, speaking at a rally in Rochester, New Hampshire, once again repeatedly blasted Haley. He charged – among other things – that she “puts America last” and “wants to gut Medicare.”
CHECK OUT THE LATEST POLL NUMBERS IN THE NEW HAMPSHIRE PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY
Haley pushed back against what she argued are Trump’s lies about her record and agenda.
“It is not what Donald Trump says. I have never said I want to raise the retirement age or cut social security. I’ve never raised a tax, regardless of what he says. He said multiple things, like I don’t believe in the border. I passed the toughest illegal immigration law in the country as governor,” she touted.
Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump addresses a campaign rally at the Rochester Opera House on Sunday in Rochester, New Hampshire. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
And Haley, in a separate interview with Fox News “Special Report” anchor Bret Baier, argued that “if you’ve got to lie to win, you don’t deserve to win. And I know that. And he knows that he’s unraveling because he sees what’s happening.”
Trump, the commanding frontrunner in the GOP nomination race as he runs a third straight time for the White House, grabbed 51% of ballots cast in last week’s low-turnout Iowa Republican caucuses. DeSantis edged Haley out for a distant second place.
But DeSantis wasn’t a factor in New Hampshire, where independent voters have long played an influential role in the state’s storied presidential primary.
TRUMP RUNNING MATE SPECULATION SOARS AS FORMER PRESIDENT CONSOLIDATES SUPPORT
Trump held 11-point and 19-point leads over Haley in two new polls released on Sunday morning, with DeSantis a distant third in the single digits before he dropped out of the race. His departure leaves Trump and Haley as the last major candidates battling for the nomination.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican presidential candidate, dropped out of the race on Sunday and endorsed former President Trump. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
Haley has repeatedly declined to set expectations for her finish in New Hampshire, reiterating to reporters on Sunday at a stop in Epping that “we’ll find out what strong and stronger is on Election Day.”
Haley campaign manager Betsy Ankney told reporters on Saturday that they’re moving full speed ahead to South Carolina, which holds the next major contest in the GOP presidential nominating calendar, on Feb. 24.
Ankney said Haley will hold a large event in her hometown of Charleston, South Carolina, on Wednesday, the same day that the campaign will launch a $4 million statewide ad blitz.
Asked by Fox News Digital if she’s moving on to her home state regardless of her finish in New Hampshire, Haley quickly responded “absolutely.”
“I can’t wait to make sure that we go and have that homecoming. And then I’m going to fight every day to earn their support. South Carolinians are smart. They’re tough. They expect you to do your homework,” she emphasized. “But I’ve won there twice. I know what it takes to do that and we’ll do it again.”
Nikki Haley walks to embrace Judge Judy Sheindlin during a campaign event at Exeter High School in Exeter, N.H., on Sunday. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Minutes after her Fox News interview, Haley took the stage at Exeter High School after being introduced by daytime TV host Judith Sheindlin, who is best known to Americans as Judge Judy.
“Please, New Hampshire. Use your brains and your heart,” Sheindlin stressed. “Bring her home on Tuesday.”
After the two hugged as Haley came on stage, the candidate said “how cool is it to have Judge Judy endorse you? It really is.”
Haley said of Sheindlin, “she’s a trailblazer. She’s tough. She speaks hard truths. She doesn’t mince words.”
And reacting to the roar of the crowd, Haley said “Can you hear that sound? That’s the sound of a two-person race.”
Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Politics
Video: President Trump Reclassifies Marijuana With Executive Order
new video loaded: President Trump Reclassifies Marijuana With Executive Order
transcript
transcript
President Trump Reclassifies Marijuana With Executive Order
Marijuana was downgraded from a Schedule I drug to a Schedule III drug on Thursday. The reclassification does not legalize cannabis, but it does ease restrictions on the substance and allows for more research.
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Today, I’m pleased to announce that I will be signing an executive order to reschedule marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III controlled substance with legitimate medical uses. We have people begging for me to do this. I want to emphasize that the order I am about to sign is not the legalization or it doesn’t legalize marijuana in any way, shape, or form, and in no way sanctions its use as a recreational drug — has nothing to do with that.
December 18, 2025
Politics
Trump quietly signs sweeping $901B defense bill after bipartisan Senate passage
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President Trump signed into law a nearly $1 trillion defense policy bill Thursday and approved what looks to be the largest military spending package in U.S. history.
The fiscal 2026 National Defense Authorization Act authorizes $901 billion in military spending, roughly $8 billion more than the administration requested, according to Reuters.
It also delivers a nearly 4 percent pay raise for troops, provides new funding for Ukraine and the Baltic States, and includes measures designed to scale back security commitments abroad.
In a release shared online, Rep. Rick Allen said: “With President Trump’s signature, the FY2026 NDAA officially delivers on our peace-through-strength agenda with a generational investment in our national defense.”
TRUMP ADMIN ANNOUNCES $11B TAIWAN ARMS SALES DEAL
U.S. President Donald Trump signs an executive order in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S. December 11, 2025. (Al Drago/Reuters)
“Not only does this bipartisan bill ensure America’s warfighters are the most lethal and capable fighting force in the world, but it also improves the quality of life for our service members in the 12th District and nationwide,” he added.
As previously reported by Fox News Digital, the Senate passed the NDAA on Wednesday, sending the compromise bill approved with bipartisan support to the president’s desk.
Trump signed it quietly Thursday evening, according to Reuters.
The NDAA includes $800 million for Ukraine over the next two years as part of the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which pays US firms for weapons for Ukraine’s military.
It also includes $175 million for the Baltic Security Initiative, which supports Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.
TRUMP TOUTS BRINGING COUNTRY BACK FROM ‘BRINK OF RUIN’
President Donald Trump announced his proposal for a ‘Golden Dome’ missile defense system in the United States on May 20, 2025. (Reuters/Leah Millis/File Photo; Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
The bill prohibits reducing U.S. troop levels in Europe below 76,000 for more than 45 days without formal certification by Congress.
The legislation also restricts the administration from reducing U.S. forces in South Korea below 28,500 troops.
Trump ultimately backed the bill in part because it codifies some of his executive orders, including funding the Golden Dome missile defense system and getting rid of diversity, equity and inclusion programs, per Reuters.
TRUMP TO HAND OUT $2.6B IN ‘WARRIOR DIVIDENDS’ — AND THE SURPRISING POT HE’S PULLING THE MONEY FROM
The seal of the Department of War is displayed inside the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. (elal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“Under President Trump, the U.S. is rebuilding strength, restoring deterrence, and proving America will not back down. President Trump and Republicans promised peace through strength. The FY26 NDAA delivers it,” House Speaker Mike Johnson had said in a statement Dec. 7 on the new measures.
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Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment.
Politics
State regulators vote to keep utility profits high, angering customers across California
Despite complaints from customers about rising electric bills, the California Public Utilities Commission voted 4 to 1 on Thursday to keep profits at Southern California Edison and the state’s other big investor-owned utilities at a level that consumer groups say has long been inflated.
The commission vote will slightly decrease the profit margins of Edison and three other big utilities beginning next year. Edison’s rate will fall to 10.03% from 10.3%.
Customers will see little impact in their bills from the decision. Because the utilities are continuing to spend more on wires and other infrastructure — capital costs that they earn profit on — that portion of customer bills is expected to continue to rise.
The vote angered consumer groups that had detailed in filings and hearings at the commission how the utilities’ return on equity — which sets the profit rate that the companies’ shareholders receive — had long been too high.
Among those testifying on behalf of consumers was Mark Ellis, the former chief economist for Sempra, the parent company of San Diego Gas & Electric and Southern California Gas. Ellis estimated that the companies’ profit margin should be closer to 6%.
He argued in a filing that the California commission had for years authorized the utilities to earn an excessive return on equity, resulting in an “unnecessary and unearned wealth transfer” from customers to the companies.
Cutting the return on equity to a little more than 6% would give Edison, Pacific Gas & Electric, SDG&E and SoCalGas a fair return, Ellis said, while saving their customers $6.1 billion a year.
The four commissioners who voted to keep the return on equity at about 10% — the percentage varies slightly for each company — said they believed they had found a balance between the 11% or higher rate that the four utilities had requested and the affordability concerns of utility customers.
Alice Reynolds, the commission’s president, said before the vote that she believed the decision “accurately reflects the evidence.”
Commissioner Darcie Houck disagreed and voted against the proposal. In her remarks, she detailed how California ratepayers were struggling to pay their bills.
“We have a duty to consider the consumer interest in determining what is a just and reasonable rate,” she said.
Consumer groups criticized the commission’s vote.
“For too long, utility companies have been extracting unreasonable profits from Californians just trying to heat or cool their homes or keep the lights on,” said Jenn Engstrom at CALPIRG. “As long as CPUC allows such lofty rates of return, it incentivizes power companies to overspend, increasing energy bills for everyone.”
California now has the nation’s second-highest electric rates after Hawaii.
Edison’s electric rates have risen by more than 40% in the last three years, according to a November analysis by the commission’s Public Advocates Office. More than 830,000 Edison customers are behind in paying their electric bills, the office said, each owing a balance of $835 on average.
The commission’s vote Thursday was in response to a March request from Edison and the three other big for-profit utilities. The companies pointed to the January wildfires in Los Angeles County, saying they needed to provide their shareholders with more profit to get them to continue to invest in their stock because of the threat of utility-caused fires in California.
In its filing, Edison asked for a return on equity of 11.75%, saying that it faced “elevated business risks,” including “the risk of extreme wildfires.”
The company told the commission that its stock had declined after the Jan. 7 Eaton fire and it needed the higher return on equity to attract investors to provide it with money for “wildfire mitigation and supporting California’s clean energy transition.”
Edison is facing hundreds of lawsuits filed by victims of the fire, which killed 19 people and destroyed thousands of homes in Altadena. The company has said the fire may have been sparked by its 100-year-old transmission line in Eaton Canyon, which it kept in place even though it hadn’t served customers since 1971.
Return on equity is crucial for utilities because it determines how much they and their shareholders earn each year on the electric lines, substations, pipelines and the rest of the system they build to serve customers.
Under the state’s system for setting electric rates, investors provide part of the money needed to build the infrastructure and then earn an annual return on that investment over the assets’ life, which can be 30 or 40 years.
In a January report, state legislative analyst Gabriel Petek detailed how electric rates at Edison and the state’s two other biggest investor-owned electric utilities were more than 60% higher than those charged by public utilities such as the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. The public utilities don’t have investors or charge customers extra for profit.
Before the vote, dozens of utility customers from across the state wrote to the commission’s five members, who were appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, asking them to lower the utilities’ return on equity.
“A profit margin of 10% on infrastructure improvements is far too high and will only continue to increase the cost of living in California,” wrote James Ward, a Rancho Santa Margarita resident. “I just wish I could get a guaranteed profit margin of 10% on my investments.”
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