SAN FRANCISCO —  Mayor London Breed may have lost reelection, but after more than six years at the helm of one of America’s most iconic cities, she says she will leave office next month as a champion.

“No matter what the results said, I’m still a winner,” Breed said in an interview this week. “The fact that I have come out of the most problematic circumstances of San Francisco to be mayor, and I’m here, and I have been able to serve, it is an absolute privilege.”

Indeed, it has been a meteoric rise to the top for Breed, 50.

Raised in poverty by her grandmother in the Western Addition, at the time one of San Francisco’s toughest neighborhoods, Breed was elected to the powerful Board of Supervisors in 2012 after serving as executive director of the African American Art and Culture Complex. She made history in June 2018 when she won a special election as the first Black female mayor of San Francisco after the unexpected death of Mayor Ed Lee.

The years that followed would be defined by crises: a deadly pandemic; the explosive availability of fentanyl and corresponding surge in overdose deaths; the twin plagues of rampant homelessness and untreated mental illness; the racial justice protests of 2020; and in the wake of COVID-era closures, a crushing rise in retail theft and collapse of the downtown economy.

“I had to deal with crisis after crisis after crisis,” Breed said.

Her track record in the face of these challenges became a decisive factor in the mayor’s race, a hard-fought competition among Breed and four other top Democrats. Breed lost to Daniel Lurie, 47, a nonprofit executive and heir to the Levi Strauss family fortune who has never held elected office.

Lurie seized on voter disillusionment with brazen retail thefts, homeless encampments and open-air drug use that made San Francisco a favorite punching bag of right-wing pundits and President-elect Donald Trump. Lurie pitched himself as a political outsider whom voters could rely on to usher in a new era of accountability and good governance.

Though Breed has never been a bleeding-heart progressive, she tacked right in recent years, championing policies to more aggressively move homeless people off the streets and give police more authority and resources to tackle crime. She said she feels she is leaving office just as “everything is starting to come together.”

Violent crime rates have fallen over the last year, with homicides down 34%, robberies down 22%, burglaries down 12% and motor vehicle theft down 21%, according to the San Francisco Police Department.

In summer, Breed launched a campaign to clear homeless encampments, an effort she said is paying off with 60% fewer tents across the city. Fatal overdoses have fallen for six consecutive months after hitting a high of 810 deaths last year.

Susie Tompkins Buell, a prominent Democratic donor and staunch supporter of Breed’s, said the mayor deserves credit for effectively leading San Francisco through an unusually difficult period. “I think she handled some serious problems very well, and I think there were new problems, problems we had never experienced before,” Buell said.

Buell applauded Breed’s decisiveness during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, when she was one of the first big-city mayors to declare a state of emergency — a decision credited with saving thousands of lives.

“Nobody knew what to do, and everyone was scared and trying to do the right thing, and be bold and careful at the same time,” Buell said. “I know she gave it her all.”

But those early pandemic decisions were a distant memory for many voters when it came time to cast ballots this year. There was a grim sense that San Francisco had lost control of its street life — and some of its charm.

Lurie’s reputation as a “non-politician” almost certainly helped him win election. Though considered a political outsider, Lurie comes from one of San Francisco’s most influential families. He was born the son of a rabbi. His parents divorced when he was young, and his mother went on to marry Peter Haas, an heir to the founder of the Levi’s brand. Haas has since died, and Lurie and his mother are among the primary heirs.

Lurie spent nearly $9 million on his campaign, and his mother, Miriam Haas, contributed an additional $1 million to an independent expenditure committee backing his mayoral bid. The committee received millions more from tech titans and wealthy investors who saw in Lurie an opportunity to set the city on a new course after what they perceived as years of misdirection.

Breed said that heavy spending disadvantaged her campaign.

“It just was definitely very challenging to run the city, which is the priority, and then try to run a campaign against the kind of financial resources that were coming at me from a lot of different places,” she said.

The rise in tech sector influence has become a defining theme the last two years in an array of San Francisco elections. Breed is still weighing whether that shift will ultimately improve local politics. “There’s a lot of money that I wish could be poured into the things that are important in San Francisco,” she said. “It can’t just be about investing in a particular person. … It has to be about investing in a city regardless of who’s in charge.”

Breed’s critics say her loss was about more than campaign money.

Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin, who ran against her for mayor as an old-school progressive, said she could be uncompromising and brusque in policy deliberations.

“It was kind of her way or the highway. And politics is the business of negotiating a compromise, which she did splendidly during COVID,” Peskin said. “But that was not everybody’s experience before COVID or after COVID, and that came back and bit her.”

In addition, he said, Breed’s shift away from the more liberal policies she championed when she served on the Board of Supervisors and in her early days as mayor cost her support from the progressive voters who helped elect her.

“She had alienated herself from liberal San Francisco along the way,” Peskin said. “And they abandoned her.”

James Taylor, a political science professor at the University of San Francisco and author of “Black Nationalism in the United States: From Malcolm X to Barack Obama,” agreed that Breed leaves office with a “mixed legacy.”

Breed governed the city during a challenging tenure, Taylor said, but some problems were of her own making. Her time in office was marred by a string of scandals that rocked city departments and nonprofits, undermining trust in government oversight.

Most recently, an investigation by the San Francisco Standard found that the head of the city’s Human Rights Commission funneled contracts worth more than $1 million to a nonprofit led by a man with whom she shared a home address and car — a close personal relationship she had not disclosed. The episode raised larger questions about how city funds have been managed for one of Breed’s signature programs, the Dream Keeper Initiative, which she established with the stated aim of directing more money into economic and cultural development in Black communities.

In the wake of the scandal, Taylor said, many Black San Franciscans felt the city lost the momentum for change they thought would come with her leadership.

“In other words, London Breed’s demise was self-inflicted,” he said. “The way this plane crashed, everything around it was destroyed.”

State Sen. Scott Wiener, a San Francisco Democrat and one of Breed’s allies, disputed that conclusion, contending Breed has been remarkably successful despite historic challenges.

“The city has been through a lot in the last five years,” he said. “The voters ultimately decided they wanted to go in another direction. But she’s done a lot of good things.”

Among her accomplishments, Wiener said: Breed was a forceful advocate for legislation to make it easier to build homes, and a reliable ally for the LGBTQ+ community.

“She really deeply understands our community,” Wiener said.

Breed acknowledged Lurie will inherit a list of tribulations. Among the more pressing issues is a projected $876-million city budget deficit. The office vacancy rate remains stubbornly high nearly five years after the pandemic. The city schools system is on the brink of state takeover.

Her advice to Lurie? “It’s important not to be afraid of what constituency you’re going to piss off when you have to make life-and-death situation decisions here in the city that may be unpopular.”

That grit is critical as California prepares for Trump to resume office, Breed said.

“San Francisco has been a consistent target and will be used as an example,” she said. “San Francisco is going to be impacted whether we want it to be or not.”

Her election loss coincided with Trump’s victory over her friend and mentor, Vice President Kamala Harris. Breed said their defeats should prompt reflection inside the Democratic Party.

“I hope the Democratic Party tries to figure out a way to help more people, especially even people like me, be more successful,” she said.

Breed said she has been focused on a smooth mayoral transition and hasn’t had much time to think about life after the mayor’s office. She has spent nearly her whole life working, she said, starting with babysitting gigs and grocery runs for neighbors as a preteen. She’s eager — and a bit anxious — to figure out her next job.

“I don’t have no rich mama with money,” she said, laughing. “I gotta go make my own money.”

President-elect Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance attended the annual Army-Navy game in Landover, Maryland, on Saturday, and they brought along some high-profile guests. 

In the 125th meeting of the Black Knights and Midshipmen, Trump brought Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth, while Vance’s guest was Marine veteran Daniel Penny. Also on hand were House Speaker Mike Johnson, incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Trump’s director of national intelligence pick, Tulsi Gabbard, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Navy won the game, 31-13, behind quarterback Blake Horvath, who passed for two touchdowns and ran for two more. The Midshipmen raised their record to 9-3, while the loss dropped Army to 11-2. Both teams have had strong seasons. Navy will face Oklahoma in the Armed Forces Bowl, and Army is slated to play in the Independence Bowl, although no opponent has been announced since Marshall dropped out.

While the game was a highly anticipated matchup, the guests brought by Trump and Vance created a pregame buzz.

Penny was found not guilty in the subway chokehold death of Jordan Neely in New York City earlier this week, a decision which was criticized by some commentators on the left and underscored a divide between crime and mental health. Neely had been menacing riders when Penny acted to defend fellow straphangers. Penny faced up to 15 years in prison, but was acquitted of all charges.

DANIEL PENNY FOUND NOT GUILTY IN SUBWAY CHOKEHOLD TRIAL

Hegseth is still courting members of the Senate to secure his nomination for the top defense role, but Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, whoi has been floated as a possible alternative, was also in attendance.

Hegseth’s appearance will mark a very public declaration of support from Trump, as some senators are still holding out on committing to his confirmation. Hegseth, an Army National Guard and former longtime Fox News host, deployed to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and has been the focus of misconduct reports.

Trump’s defense secretary nominee has denied allegations that he mistreated women but did reach a financial settlement with an accuser from a 2017 incident to avoid a lawsuit. He has vowed that he won’t drink “a drop of alcohol” if confirmed as defense secretary.

Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be Defense Secretary, gives a thumbs-up as he walks with his wife Jennifer Hegseth, left, to meet with Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

JD VANCE CONFIRMS DANIEL PENNY WILL ATTEND ARMY-NAVY GAME AFTER ACQUITTAL IN SUBWAY CHOKEHOLD TRIAL

House Speaker Mike Johnson and Elon Musk were also spotted in Trump’s box at the game.

Meanwhile, Vance took a swipe at New York City prosecutors for taking on the case in a post on X confirming Penny’s attendance.

“Daniel’s a good guy, and New York’s mob district attorney tried to ruin his life for having a backbone,” Vance wrote. “I’m grateful he accepted my invitation and hope he’s able to have fun and appreciate how much his fellow citizens admire his courage.” 

Penny, 26, was charged with manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide for the May 2023 subway chokehold death of Neely, a 30-year-old homeless man with schizophrenia who had barged onto the train shouting death threats while high on a type of synthetic marijuana known as K2.

Marine veteran Daniel Penny will attend the game alongside Vice President-elect JD Vance. (Rashid Umar Abbasi for Fox News Digital)

Trump attended the game as president in 2018, 2019 and 2020, while he also appeared as president-elect in 2016.

President Biden has never attended the annual clash as president, although he did appear as vice president.

This season has been a banner year for both football programs, adding buzz to the annual rivalry match. The teams have a combined 19 wins this year and with victories over Air Force, the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy will be awarded to the winner of Saturday’s game. 

Fox News’ Aishah Hasnie, Paulina Dedaj and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report. 

The Navy Midshipmen and the Army Black Knights line up for the snap at the line of scrimmage during the first quarter of an NCAA football game at Gillette Stadium on Dec. 9, 2023, in Foxborough, Mass.  (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

WASHINGTON —  The Supreme Court voted Friday to hear a potentially far-reaching claim of religious freedom and decide whether church-sponsored charities, programs and businesses may refuse to pay state unemployment taxes for their employees.

All states exempt churches and church programs from the taxes if they “operate primarily for religious purposes.” But they usually require affiliated schools, colleges, hospitals and other businesses to pay unemployment taxes if they are open to all and do not offer worship services or religious training.

In a case from Wisconsin, the justices will reconsider that approach and decide whether instead to require the states to defer to religious authorities. The appeal that will be heard argues the government may not “second-guess the religious decisions” of church authorities who seek an exemption.

The dispute began with Black River Industries, Barron County Developmental Services and two other small nonprofit corporations that are funded by state or federal grants to provide services for people with developmental disabilities.

They are now controlled by Catholic charities that sued to seek an exemption from the unemployment taxes.

Their lawyers argued those charitable programs are motivated by “sincerely held religious beliefs and to carry out the religious mission” of the church.

Therefore, they said, it violates the Constitution to require Catholic charities to pay unemployment taxes, noting the church has its own program of unemployment coverage.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court disagreed in a 4-3 ruling and upheld the state taxes. It said the four programs were “charitable” and “educational,” but not primarily religious.

Lawyers for Becket Fund for Religious Liberty appealed and urged the court to overturn the Wisconsin ruling.

The case comes before a high court that has repeatedly ruled in favor of religious claims over the last decade.

In one line of cases, the justices said churches and religious claimants are entitled to equal state benefits, including grants to pay for playgrounds at a church school or tuition grants for parents to send children to religious schools.

In another line of cases, they ruled religious organizations are freed from government regulation of their employees.

Four years ago, for example, they ruled that two Catholic school teachers in Los Angeles who were fired could not sue alleging they were victims of discrimination.

A year later, the court ruled that as a matter of religious freedom, Catholic Social Services had a right to participate in a city-sponsored foster care program in Philadelphia and receive payments for doing so, even though it refused to work with same-sex couples as required by the city.

The court also ruled that private businesses such as the Hobby Lobby stores and church-sponsored entities had a religious liberty right to refuse to provide contraceptive coverage for their employees as required by federal law.

In the Wisconsin case, a group of religious liberty scholars urged the court to rule the government must “defer” to church authorities in matters involving their organizations.

“This case involves severe governmental interference with religious liberty that strikes at the heart of the 1st Amendment’s most basic guarantees,” they wrote in a friend-of-the-court brief. They said “courts must defer to how the religious group defines its message.”

The Catholic Conference of Illinois was among the church groups that urged the court to hear the case. Its brief noted that its bishops speak for 949 parishes, 46 Catholic hospitals, 21 healthcare centers, 11 colleges and universities, 424 schools and 527 Catholic cemeteries.

The court is likely to schedule arguments in the Wisconsin case in March or April and issue a ruling by the end of June.

“Wisconsin is trying to make sure no good deed goes unpunished,” said Eric Rassbach, vice president and senior counsel at Becket. “Penalizing Catholic Charities for serving Catholics and non-Catholics alike is ridiculous and wrong. We are confident the Supreme Court will reject the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s absurd ruling.”