Southwest
State education chief ‘on GOP radar’ launches game plan for nixing cabinet department
EXCLUSIVE – As President-elect Donald Trump privately storyboards his cabinet choices, one top state official who is rumored to be on the shortlist for secretary of education is releasing his game plan for shifting the department’s duties to states and parents, Fox News Digital has learned.
In a memo to Oklahoma parents and school administrators, Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters will state that the federal agency has “hijacked our education system using taxpayer dollars to impose harmful policies and control what’s taught in our schools.”
Some issues Walters said he is bringing to the fore both in the memo and what he is calling a Trump Education Advisory Team to be announced Monday.
The Department of Education is a relatively new stand-alone cabinet agency created under former President Jimmy Carter, which his successor, Ronald Reagan, called to shutter during his 1982 State of the Union.
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Tenets include ending “social indoctrination” in the classroom and promoting patriotism through curriculum.
In a Friday interview, Walters said the team will organize priorities for schools to be in line with Trump administration education policies, based on what the president-elect has signaled that he will do in that regard.
With the prospect of a shuttered Department of Education, Walters said that he will plan out how to fill any holes left by federal programs and develop legislative recommendations.
At an October rally in Indiana, Pennsylvania, Trump said he is “going to close the Department of Education and move education back to the states.”
“And we’re going to do it fast. We’ll get somebody great [as secretary].” He namedropped former Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y. who had accompanied him, as well as Ohio entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.
Walters also remains “on Republicans’ radar” in that regard, according to Education Week.
He said on Friday that Democrats failed to challenge Trump on education policy likely because his positions already resonated with the American public, alluding to the recent scholastic controversies in Virginia and elsewhere.
“We’re going to be the tip of the spear in instituting President Trump’s agenda. This is to ensure that we are in complete alignment with the most aggressive, comprehensive and conservative education agenda the country has ever seen,” he said.
Walters said he is confident that Trump will follow through and shutter the agency, and that it will result in increased aptitude among students less burdened by red tape, redundancies to state agencies, and social policy edicts.
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Desks in a classroom. (iStock)
“I mean, President Biden came out in the middle of the summer and told us we had to put boys in girl’s bathrooms,” he said.
Whether Trump ultimately chooses him, Walters said he will remain focused on bringing Oklahoma in-line with Trumpian policies, and creating a roadmap for other states.
Improving education, he added, goes far beyond curriculum and will have lasting impacts on the economy, jobs and more.
“Parents wanted to hear that . . . our schools are not here to tell our kids this is an evil, racist country and building this indoctrination,” he said. “We want to support families and school choice.”
The transition plan he crafted also depicts how the education system can continue to run without the influence of teachers’ unions that comes with the present top-down system.
The Department of Education building in Washington, D.C. (Erin Scott/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
He said that American Federation of Teachers boss Randi Weingarten put his picture on a screen after Trump’s during a recent union convention, and that his response was Tuesday’s “definitive win” by pro-school-choice candidates.
“It’s just it’s so exciting to see this agenda come to fruition,” he said.
In the current Congress, Rep. Barry Moore, R-Ala., also authored a bill abolishing the Department of Education. It was referred to and remains in committee.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Trump campaign for information on the cabinet shortlist, as well as to the Department of Education for a response to Walters’ plans. A representative for the latter referred Fox News Digital to the Trump campaign.
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Southwest
Gov. Abbott outlines Texas' massive offer to aid Trump's deportations, fires back at 'resistance' governors
Texas has offered a massive tract of land in the Rio Grande Valley sector to aid the incoming Trump administration’s mass deportation plans, but the move is inviting questions over what the space will be used for.
“Using this land for deportation purposes is just part of a multitude of strategies that we’re involved in,” Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, told “America’s Newsroom” on Wednesday.
“One is, as we speak right now, there are more orange buoys that are being put into the Rio Grande River to deny illegal entry. The second thing is we are working to make sure that we are going after the criminals… That’s why I declared Tren de Aragua as a foreign terrorist organization, so that we would be able to muster every single law enforcement tool in the state of Texas to go after them and arrest them.
“We’ve made hundreds of arrests of Tren de Aragua, which is working to expand across the country, but we’re making it clear that Tren de Aragua made a mistake when they tried to put a foothold in the state of Texas,” he continued.
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Greg Abbott, governor of Texas, during the Republican National Convention (RNC) at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US, on Wednesday, July 17, 2024. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham offered the incoming administration a tract of more than 1,400 acres in Starr County.
In a letter obtained by Fox News Digital, Buckingham wrote to Trump that her office is “fully prepared to enter into an agreement with the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or the United States Border Patrol to allow a facility to be built for the processing, detention, and coordination of the largest deportation of violent criminals in the nation’s history.”
The prospect of nationwide mass deportations has not come without scrutiny, however.
Arizona Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs and Boston Democratic Mayor Michelle Wu have pushed back, stating their refusal to cooperate with the effort. Los Angeles city lawmakers voted Tuesday to formally adopt a sanctuary city ordinance and prohibit any city resources or personnel to be used to help federal enforcement of immigration laws.
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President Donald Trump visits the US-Mexico border fence in Otay Mesa, Calif. on Sept. 18, 2019. (NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images)
Abbott said the Democratic officials are “doubling down” on reasons their party was handed a resounding defeat in the 2024 election.
“What the Americans demanded were safe communities and to stop the illegal immigration into our country, especially of those who pose great dangers, and whether it be in Arizona, whether it be in Massachusetts or other places across the country where they’re not going to be cooperating with ICE, with the borders, or with any effort to remove very dangerous criminals, they’re going to see more crimes in their cities and they’re going to see more losses at the ballot box because Americans are angry about this and these office holders, they have to be responding to that anger.”
Fox News’ Adam Shaw contributed to this report.
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The Los Angeles Dodgers met with four-time all-star Juan Soto this week but unless the market changes the defending World Series champs may have a tough time signing the coveted free agent, KTLA’s David “Ping” Pingalore reports.
“I can confirm through sources that @juansoto25_ did meet with Andrew Friedman and Brandon Gomes in Orange County today,” Ping posted on his Instagram account Tuesday.
Soto is the most sought-after slugger in the free agent market with other big-payroll teams like the New York Yankees (Soto’s most recent club) and the New York Mets expected to engage in a bidding war to land the outfielder who cracked 41 homers and knocked in 109 RBI while recording a .288 batting average in 2024.
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New York Yankees’ Juan Soto, center, hits a home run off Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto (18) during the third inning in Game 2 of the baseball World Series, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) -
New York Yankees’ Juan Soto reacts after flying out against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the eighth inning in Game 3 of the baseball World Series, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez) -
New York Yankees’ Juan Soto, left, celebrates with Alex Verdugo (24) after scoring on a wild pitch against the Cleveland Guardians during the third inning in Game 1 of the baseball AL Championship Series Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Godofredo Vásquez) -
New York Yankees outfielder Juan Soto (22) warms up before playing against the Kansas City Royals in Game 2 of the American League baseball playoff series, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) -
Newly acquired New York Yankees’ Juan Soto attends a media availability at baseball spring training in Tampa, Fla., Monday, Feb. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Ron Blum) -
FILE – San Diego Padres’ Juan Soto follows the flight of his two-run home run against Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Kyle Freeland in the third inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2023, in Denver. Juan Soto, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Pete Alonso are among 194 players across Major League Baseball still negotiating salaries for the 2024 season leading into Thursday’s Jan. 11, 2024, deadline. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File) -
San Diego Padres Juan Soto dons a sombrero celebrating his solo home run against the San Francisco Giants in the 4th inning of an MLB baseball game at the Alfredo Harp Helu Stadium, in Mexico City, Saturday, April 29, 2023. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano) -
FILE – Washington Nationals’ Juan Soto hits a three-run home run during the second inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, on June 19, 2022, in Washington. The San Diego Padres acquired superstar outfielder Juan Soto from the Nationals on Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2022, in one of baseball’s biggest deals at the trade deadline, vaulting their postseason chances by adding one of the game’s best young hitters. (AP Photo/Nick Wass, File) -
Washington Nationals’ Juan Soto acknowledges the New York Mets dugout as he steps in the batter’s box during the first inning of a baseball game at Nationals Park, Monday, Aug. 1, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
The Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies are also expected to take a shot at Soto but Ping says Los Angeles may be hampered by a hesitancy to offer a long-term deal.
“According to sources if the market weakens the @dodgers interest would only be a 1-2 year deal as Soto seeks a long-term deal for 600m,” Ping posted.
The Dodgers are very familiar with what Soto can offer a team’s offense after facing him as a member of the Washington Nationals and San Diego Padres in the National League.
Soto also played well in the World Series against the Dodgers. Despite the Yankees losing in five games Soto batted .313 and hit a home run in Game 2.
A security guard was arrested in connection with a man found stabbed to death in a Santa Monica alleyway.
The suspect was identified as Sebastian Emil Gaston, 36, the Santa Monica Police Department confirmed on Nov. 19.
On Sept. 6, police responded to reports of a person on the ground in the 1100 Block of Alley 6.
Arriving officers found the victim with a fatal stab wound to his upper chest. He was only identified as a homeless man in his 30s.
The suspect had fled the scene before authorities arrived. After gathering surveillance footage and witness statements, detectives identified Gaston as the suspect.
They also discovered that Gaston was a security guard who worked at the building adjacent to where the deadly stabbing occurred.
On Nov. 7, Gaston was taken into custody. During his interrogation, police said he admitted to the deadly stabbing as well as a previous assault that happened in July.
Details on the motive behind the murder or whether the victim and the suspect knew each other were not released.
Gaston remains in the custody of the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department pending trial.
Anyone with information about the deadly incident is encouraged to contact Detective Kayondo at lawrence.kayondo@santamonica.gov or Sergeant Lozano at alfonso.lozano@santamonica.gov.
The public can also call the Watch Commander at 310-458-8427.
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