Politics
Hawley demands Biden ‘step up’ and provide Zelenskyy MiGs, weaponry: ‘This could be the end of Ukraine’

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FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., reacted to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s deal with to Congress, saying the Biden administration is “failing to guide” and should present Ukraine with the planes and weaponry essential to defend itself in opposition to Russia.
Zelenskyy, in an deal with to Congress Wednesday, pleaded with the US to “do extra” by implementing a no-fly zone, offering extra plane and air protection programs, and creating a brand new safety alliance.
Hawley spoke with Fox Information Digital instantly following Zelenskyy’s deal with, calling it “very highly effective” and accusing the Biden administration of “dragging their toes” and failing to take instant motion on a number of the Ukrainian president’s calls for.
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“I believed it was very highly effective. I believed his pleas to the administration to do extra work have been very, very highly effective. He requested for more durable sanctions, which I feel are very a lot so as. He requested for assist in the skies.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivers a digital deal with to Congress by video on the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, March 16, 2022.
(Drew Angerer, Pool through AP)
Hawley instructed Fox Information Digital that the U.S. and its allies are unlikely to totally shut the skies within the type of a no-fly zone Zelenskyy is asking for, however President Biden should approve anti-aircraft planes and different weaponry to help the Ukrainians of their battle in opposition to Russia.
“And the administration course has been dragging their toes on this for causes that I frankly do not actually perceive. After which on the finish, he mentioned that, you already know, he wished Joe Biden would step up and be the chief of the world. And, you already know, that is one thing that all of us want. So I feel he hit the nail on the top there, and this administration has acquired to indicate some management,” Hawley mentioned.
“They’ve failed to discourage Russia the primary sentence they’ve failed to this point to indicate actual energy. And what this president must do now could be he must reopen American power manufacturing, must sanction the Russians’ power manufacturing and switch off their money move, and he must get weapons and ammunition to the Ukrainians.”
Hawley mentioned he is in full help of backing the Ukrainians having access to MiG-29 fighter jets from Poland, which might assist them shoot down Russian planes.
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“They’re asking for MiGs that I perceive that the Polish authorities is ready to offer to them. And I see no purpose why we would not help that. They’re asking for increasingly more subtle anti-aircraft weaponry. And I feel we ought to produce that to them. And for my part, is we should be supplying them all the weaponry. And that is all defensive in nature. We should be supplying the weaponry and the elimination of something that they will use. They know find out how to fly the MiGs. Their skilled Ukrainian pilots are skilled on the MiGs.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivers a digital deal with to Congress by video on the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, March 16, 2022.
(Sarah Silbiger, Pool through AP)
“I am in favor of getting again to them and getting them up within the skies and giving them the complete plane weaponry to permit them to shoot down Russian planes and to start to determine some management over the skies. I imply, I simply if we’re not going to try this, then President Zelenskyy is correct. I imply, they’re actually simply sitting there uncovered. So I feel it is time the administration moved on this.”
When requested about why Biden appears to be transferring slowly on motion to assist Ukraine, Hawley mentioned it is the newest in a collection of the Biden administration’s public disagreements, together with most lately within the wake of the botched Afghanistan withdrawal.
“They appear to be having their very own public set of disagreements, as is regular with this administration. You understand, the Secretary of State initially mentioned that the administration would help getting the MiGs to Ukraine after which only a few days later, they walked that again. The Pentagon apparently advisable in opposition to it. And so, you already know, we noticed this in Afghanistan, and this administration spent all their time combating amongst themselves, speaking to one another and failing to guide.

Speaker of the Home Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., introduces Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to talk to the U.S. Congress by video on the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, March 16, 2022.
(AP Photograph/J. Scott Applewhite, Pool)
“And once more, that is an administration that has now misplaced two sovereign nations in six months. They failed to discourage this Russian invasion. They projected nothing however weak spot. And we’re seeing it now. You see the allies questioning what the administration is doing. You’ve got acquired a number of NATO allies calling for getting planes to the Ukrainians.”
Hawley additionally emphasised that he’s very against placing American troops on the bottom in Ukriane, however offering them weaponry is a really totally different factor.
“And the administration wants to maneuver on that,” mentioned Hawley.
“I imply, it was that is this might be the top of Ukraine except one thing is completed.”

Politics
Hegseth to look into 'what went wrong' in Afghanistan and pledges accountability, slams diversity motto

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday addressed events in Afghanistan, saying they created the perception of “American weakness.”
While speaking to the Department of Defense and Pentagon workforce during a town hall on Friday, Hegseth said America “deserves to take accountability for” events in Afghanistan, the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel, and the war that was unleashed in Ukraine.
“Chaos happens when the perception of American strength is not complete,” Hegseth said. “We aim to re-establish that deterrence.”
President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth testifies during his Senate Armed Services confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill on Jan. 14 in Washington, D.C. ( (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images))
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He discussed the three pillars he will focus on during his term – reviving the warrior ethos, restoring trust in the military and rebuilding it by matching threats to capabilities, and reestablishing deterrence by defending the homeland.
Hegseth also spoke about the broken windows theory in policing, explaining that disregarding the small things in the military can create large problems.
“I think the same thing exists inside our services – making sure at every level, there [are] standards and accountability, and that we live it at the highest levels,” he said.

UNITED STATES – DECEMBER 3: Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be defense secretary, makes his way to a meeting with Sen. Ted Budd, R-N.C., in Russell building on Tuesday, December 3, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images) (Tom Williams)
That is why, Hegseth said, the U.S. will look back at what happened in Afghanistan.
He added the department will hold people accountable.
“Not to be retrospective, not for retribution, but to understand what went wrong and why there was no accountability for it,” Hegseth said.

Sec. Hegseth said he will focus on rebuilding the military. (U.S. Army Fort Leonard Wood)
Going forward, the military will find strength in unity, not diversity, according to Hegseth.
“I think the single dumbest phrase in military history is ‘our diversity is our strength,’” he said. “Our strength is our shared purpose – regardless of our background, regardless of how we grew up, regardless of our gender, regardless of our race.
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In the department, Hegseth said everyone will be treated equally.
“We will treat everyone with fairness,” he said. “We will treat everyone with respect.”
Service members and department civilian employees will be judged by their merit, commitment to the team, and the mission, according to Hegseth.
Politics
Trump to make himself chair of the Kennedy Center, says he'll dismiss board members

President Donald Trump left the arts world reeling with his announcement on Truth Social that he intends to appoint himself chairman of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., and immediately terminate multiple members of the board of trustees, “who do not share our Vision for a Golden Age in Arts and Culture.”
Shortly after the news broke Friday, the Kennedy Center’s website became difficult to reach due to “high traffic,” according to a note on its landing page.
“The Kennedy Center is aware of the post made recently by [the President] on social media,” the arts institution said in a statement over email. “We have received no official communications from the White House regarding changes to our board of trustees. We are aware that some members of our board have received termination notices from the administration.”
In its statement, the Kennedy Center noted that since it’s inception, the institution has “had a collaborative relationship with every presidential administration” and “a bi-partisan board of trustees that has supported the arts in a non-partisan fashion.”
“[T]he chair of the board of trustees is appointed by the Center’s board members,” the statement said. “There is nothing in the Center’s statute that would prevent a new administration from replacing board members; however, this would be the first time such action has been taken with the Kennedy Center’s board.”
Trump has long had a contentious relationship with the storied arts institution, considered the nation’s most prestigious avatar of culture. In 2017, he and First Lady Melania Trump skipped that year’s Kennedy Center Honors after being criticized by honorees, marking only the fourth time in the organization’s history that a president was not in attendance.
The Kennedy Center is a federal facility authorized by an act of Congress in 1958 and maintains a public-private partnership with the federal government, which funds the building’s maintenance and operations. Its arts programs, performances and educational initiatives are paid for through ticket sales and gifts from donors.
The current chairman for more than a decade is businessman and philanthropist David M. Rubenstein. Rubenstein had planned to retire last month, but after Trump’s election, it was announced that he would stay in his role for an additional year. Board members are appointed by the president. At present , there are 36 board members, some of whom were appointed by Trump during his first term, including Attorney General Pam Bondi and his former transportation secretary, Elaine Chao.
President Biden filled a number of board vacancies during his last weeks in office, naming, among others, former White House press secretary Mike Donilon. Honorary chairs of the Kennedy Center include first ladies Melania Trump, Jill Biden, Hillary Clinton, Michelle Obama and Laura Bush.
“Just last year, the Kennedy Center featured Drag Shows specifically targeting our youth — THIS WILL STOP.” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “The Kennedy Center is an American Jewel, and must reflect the brightest STARS on its stage from all across our Nation.”
This is not the first time in the early days of his second administration that the president has taken a muscular stance against existing cultural organizations. One of his first acts as president was to dissolve the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, which was established by President Ronald Reagan in 1982 to advise on issues of cultural and artistic import.
Trump did not say which board members he planned to oust in his Truth Social post.
Politics
The Hitchhiker's Guide to House Republicans releasing their tax and spending cut plan

House Republican leaders spent nearly five hours at the White House on Thursday – some of it with President Donald Trump – as they tried to finalize the outline of their tax and spending cut package.
The plan is to release a framework with some numbers in the coming days.
Fox is told to expect north of $1 trillion in spending cuts. The bill would make permanent the 2017 Trump tax cuts. It is also likely the bill includes a provision to bar taxes on tips.
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Congress is racing to be ready to execute the recommendations of President Donald Trump’s new DOGE commission. (Getty Images)
House Republicans hoped to have a bill ready to go before the Budget Committee this week after their retreat at Mar-a-Lago.
But no dice.
Republicans hope to prep this bill before the House Budget Committee next week.
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House Speaker Mike Johnson, right, discusses President Donald Trump’s agenda during an appearance on “Sunday Morning Futures.” (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images | Photo by Mustafa Yalcin/Anadolu via Getty Images/ Fox News Channel)
When asked if a plan would be unveiled Friday, Speaker Mike Johnson told Fox News, “nothing today” on paper or details of a budget package.
He said the committee markup may come Tuesday, but that there are a couple of details to “work out.”
Republicans need a budget framework adopted on the floor so they can use the budget reconciliation tool to bypass a Senate filibuster. No budget? No reconciliation option.
House GOPers are feeling pressure from Senate Republicans who are pressing ahead with their own plan. Senate Republicans dine at Mar-a-Lago tonight with President Trump.
House Republicans are worried if they stumble at moving first, they could get jammed by the Senate.
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