Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., says he hopes President-elect Trump is successful, and spoke out against those who feel otherwise. 

Fetterman appeared Sunday on ABC’S ‘This Week.’ His more than 10-minute sit-down segment was pre-recorded with co-anchor Jonathan Karl. 

‘I’m not rooting against him,’ the Democratic senator said. ‘If you’re rooting against the president, you are rooting against the nation. And and I’m not ever going to be where I want a president to fail. So, country first. I know that’s become maybe like a cliche, but it happens to be true.’

The senator told Karl he never believed Trump’s movement was about fascism, while noting that it was Vice President Kamala Harris’ ‘prerogative’ to call Trump a fascist during her campaign.

‘Fascism, that’s not a word that regular people use, you know?’ Fetterman said. ‘I think people are going to decide who is the candidate that’s going to protect and project, you know, my version of the American way of life, and that’s what happened.’

Fetterman has been meeting with Trump’s Cabinet nominees, noting that his decision about whether to vote to confirm the candidates will stem from an open mind and informed perspective.

‘I believe that it’s appropriate and the responsibility of a U.S. senator to have a conversation with President-elect Trump’s nominees. That’s why I met with Elise Stefanik and Pete Hegseth, just wrapped with Tulsi Gabbard, and look forward to my meetings with others soon,’ Fetterman declared in a post on X.

‘My votes will come from an open mind and an informed opinion after having a conversation with them. That’s not controversial, it’s my job,’ he continued.

More than a month ago, Fetterman said Democrats cannot afford to ‘freak out’ over everything Trump says or does. He echoed that sentiment on Sunday, again mentioning that Trump has not even taken office yet. 

Fox News’ Alex Nitzberg contributed to this report. 

President-elect Trump on Sunday named Callista Gingrich, wife to former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, as one of his latest U.S. ambassador nominees.

Writing on Truth Social, Trump wrote that he picked Gingrich to serve as U.S. ambassador to Switzerland, citing her previous ambassadorial experience in his first administration. Gingrich, and the other ambassador nominees, will need to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

‘Happily married to the Great Newt Gingrich, Callista previously served, with distinction, as my Ambassador to the Holy See,’ Trump’s post read. ‘During her tenure, Callista worked to advance and defend international religious freedom, combat human trafficking, and provide humanitarian assistance around the World.’

‘Callista graduated, with honors, from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, with a Bachelor of Arts in Music in 1988,’ the Republican leader added. ‘Congratulations!’

Trump later wrote that he has nominated Mauricio Claver-Carone as a U.S. special envoy for Latin America. Special envoy positions are different from ambassador roles, as they are shorter and typically meant to fulfill a specific mission.

Trump cited ‘chaos and anarchy’ at the U.S. southern border in his announcement about Claver-Carone.

‘It is time to restore order in our own hemisphere,’ Trump wrote. ‘Mauricio knows the region, and how to put America’s interests FIRST.’

‘He also knows the dire threats we face from illegal mass migration and fentanyl,’ he added. ‘As the State Department’s Special Envoy, Mauricio will work tirelessly to protect the American People.’

In a third post, Trump named Ken Howery, a co-founder of PayPal, as his pick for U.S. ambassador to the Kingdom of Denmark. Howery previously served as a U.S. ambassador to Sweden, and Trump wrote that he ‘served our National brilliantly’ in that role.

‘As a Co-Founder of PayPal and venture capital fund, Founders Fund, Ken turned American Innovation and Tech leadership into Global success stories, and that experience will be invaluable in representing us abroad,’ Trump explained. ‘For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity…Thank you Ken, and congratulations!’

China has warned the U.S. that it is making ‘dangerous moves’ by providing Taiwan with an additional $571 million in defense materials, which was authorized by President Biden on Saturday.

In addition to the $571 million approved by Biden, the U.S. Department of Defense announced Friday that $295 million in military sales had been approved for the self-ruled island of Taiwan.

The sales and assistance from the U.S. are intended to help Taiwan defend itself, and possibly deter China from launching an attack.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry released a statement urging the U.S. to stop arming Taiwan and to cease what it referred to as ‘dangerous moves that undermine peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait,’ according to a report from The Associated Press.

Biden’s approved $571 million in military assistance includes DoD materials and services along with military education and training for Taiwan. The funds are in addition to another $567 million that the president approved for the same purposes in September.

The $295 million in military sales includes about $265 million for about 300 tactical radio systems and $30 million for 16 gun mounts.

Taiwan’s foreign ministry said in a post on X that the two sales reaffirmed the U.S. government’s ‘commitment to our defense.’

Earlier this month, Taiwan defense officials raised concerns about a substantial deployment of Chinese naval ships and military planes, saying the build-up could eventually lead to war as tensions continue to rise in the region.

Officials said China had sent about a dozen ships and 47 military planes to regional waters around the Taiwan Strait, as the nation braced for military drills following Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te’s recent overseas trip that included visits to Hawaii and Guam, an American territory.

Lai, who has been in office since May, spoke with U.S. congressional leaders by phone while in Guam. 

Lai’s visit came weeks after the U.S. approved a potential $2 billion arms sale package to Taiwan, including the delivery of an advanced air defense missile system battle tested in Ukraine and radar systems. The potential package included three National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) and related equipment valued at up to $1.16 billion, according to the State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs.

The Chinese communist government has pledged to annex Taiwan, through military force if necessary, and sends ships and military planes near the island almost daily.

The U.S. has repeatedly signaled its support for Taiwan through military deals, operations and diplomatic interactions with Taiwanese officials.

Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Rep. Kay Granger, R-Texas, has been living in a retirement facility, a source told Fox News on Sunday. The source also denied a local news report that said she was in a memory care facility.

Granger, who is retiring at the end of this congressional term, has largely remained absent from the Capitol in recent months, having last cast votes on July 24. She was not present for over 54% of votes this year.

The Dallas Express investigated the 81-year-old congresswoman’s absence, publishing a report on Friday that quoted a constituent of her district who said that Granger was residing in a memory care facility in Texas. The report was later picked up by other news outlets.

Fox News spoke with a source from Granger’s office who denied that Granger was in a memory care unit. The source told Fox News that Granger is in a retirement facility where memory care is provided, though not in the memory care unit itself.

Granger released a statement to Fox News, saying that she has faced ‘health challenges’ and is ‘deeply grateful for the outpouring of care and concern’ over the weekend.

‘As many of my family, friends, and colleagues have known, I have been navigating some unforeseen health challenges over the past year,’ Granger said in the statement. ‘However, since early September, my health challenges have progressed making frequent travel to Washington both difficult and unpredictable. During this time, my incredible staff has remained steadfast, continuing to deliver exceptional constituent services, as they have for the past 27 years.’

Granger, who did not seek re-election for the coming term, has served in the House since 1997. She previously served as the first female mayor of Fort Worth, Texas.

While Granger appears to not have cast a vote since July, she did return to the Capitol in November for the unveiling of her portrait as Appropriations Committee Chairwoman, and a reception that followed. House Speaker Johnson, R-La., and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., both spoke at the event.

One senior Republican source told Fox News that Granger did not step down earlier due to the paper-thin GOP House majority.

‘Frankly, we needed the numbers,’ the source told Fox News.

The slim majority presents a challenge for the speaker of the 119th Congress, in which vote attendance could be the difference between success or defeat for Republicans.

Fox News reached out to Johnson’s office for comment.

Granger’s long absence was blasted by Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., in a post on X.

‘Kay Granger’s long absence reveals the problem with a Congress that rewards seniority & relationships more than merit & ideas,’ he wrote. ‘We have a sclerotic gerontocracy. We need term limits. We need to get big money out of politics so a new generation of Americans can run and serve.’

Khanna was one of the few lawmakers who previously criticized what he referred to as the ‘gerontocracy.’ In May 2023, he called on Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who was then aged 89, to step down as her own health issues kept her away from the Capitol. Feinstein died months later in September 2023.

President-elect Donald Trump unleashed a slew of nominations on Sunday night, naming several new people to serve in his forthcoming administration.

In several Truth Social posts on Sunday, Trump introduced various experts to work in the White House on issues ranging from defense to technology to budgeting. The Republican leader began by naming Stephen Alexander Vaden as his nominee for deputy secretary of the Department of Agriculture.

‘In my First Term, Stephen was the General Counsel of the Department of Agriculture, and a Member of the Board of the Commodity Credit Corporation, where he won two cases before the United States Supreme Court, relocated and reorganized the Agencies that comprise the Department to better serve Rural America, and engaged in substantial regulatory reform,’ Trump wrote in a post. 

‘Stephen joined the USDA on Day One of my First Term, and left in December 2020 after I nominated him, and the U.S. Senate confirmed him, to continue to serve the American People as an Article III Judge on the Court of International Trade,’ he added. ‘Judge Stephen Vaden resides in Union City, Tennessee, where he helps manage his family farm. Congratulations Stephen!’

Trump followed up his first post by naming a ‘slate of America First Patriots’ to work with Pete Hegseth, his nominee for secretary of defense and a former ‘Fox & Friends Weekend’ co-host. Trump nominated Stephen Feinberg as the next deputy secretary of defense, and said Feinberg would ‘Help Make the Pentagon Great Again.’

‘An extremely successful businessman, Stephen is a Princeton graduate, who founded his company, Cerberus, in 1992,’ Trump wrote. ‘In addition to his leadership at Cerberus, from 2018 to January 2021, Stephen served as Chairman of my Intelligence Advisory Board.’

The president-elect went on to name Elbridge ‘Bridge’ Colby as his pick for under secretary of defense for policy.

‘A highly respected advocate for our America First foreign and defense policy, Bridge will work closely with my outstanding Secretary of Defense Nominee, Pete Hegseth, to restore our Military power, and achieve my policy of PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH,’ Trump said, noting that Colby graduated from Harvard University and Yale Law School. 

‘Bridge served with distinction in the Pentagon in my First Term, leading the effort on my landmark 2018 Defense strategy…and will make an excellent addition to my team, who will, Make America Great Again!’

Trump then named Michael Duffey and Emil Michael as his picks for under secretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, and undersecretary of defense for research and engineering, respectively.

‘Mike will drive change at the Pentagon and, as a staunch proponent of an America First approach to our National Defense, will work to revitalize our Defense Industrial Base, and rebuild our Military,’ Trump said of Duffey.

Trump added that Emil Michael would ‘ensure that our Military has the most technologically sophisticated weapons in the World, while saving A LOT of money for our Taxpayers.’

‘Emil is a graduate of Harvard University, and has a Law degree from Stanford,’ Trump wrote. ‘He is a one of the most respected leaders in the Tech business, and will be a champion for the Troops, and our Great Country.’

For his next defense-related picks, Trump announced Keith Bass as his nominee for assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, and that Joe Kasper would serve as chief of staff for the secretary of defense. Kasper worked in the first Trump administration in support roles, in addition to Capitol Hill. 

Bass, a retired Navy commander, would be ‘leading the charge to ensure our Troops are healthy, and receiving the best Medical Care possible,’ Trump said. 

Next, Trump announced Scott Kupor as his pick for the director of the Office of Personnel Management. Trump noted that Kupor was the first employee at Andreessen Horowitz, a venture capital firm where he is now a managing partner.

‘Scott will bring much needed reform to our federal workforce. Scott graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Stanford University, with a bachelor’s degree in Public Policy,’ Trump wrote. ‘He also holds a Law degree, with distinction, from Stanford University. Congratulations Scott!’

In his final bundle of nominations, the Republican president-elect announced his picks for tech-related roles. Trump began by naming Michael J.K. Kratsios as his new director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

Kratsios, who will also serve as an assistant to the president for science and technology, holds a degree from Princeton University. Trump noted that he previously served as an under secretary of defense for research & engineering at the Pentagon, among other roles.

Trump added that Dr. Lynne Parker will serve as executive director of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, and counselor to the director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. 

‘Dr. Parker previously served as Deputy U.S. CTO, and Founding Director of the National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Office,’ Trump said. ‘She received her PhD in Computer Science from MIT.’

Trump’s last two picks were Bo Hines and Sriram Krishnan. Hines will be the executive director of the Presidential Council of Advisers for Digital Assets, which Trump described as a ‘a new advisory group composed of luminaries from the Crypto industry.’

‘In his new role, Bo will work with David to foster innovation and growth in the digital assets space, while ensuring industry leaders have the resources they need to succeed,’ Trump wrote, adding that Krishnan will serve as senior policy advisor for artificial intelligence at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

‘Working closely with David Sacks, Sriram will focus on ensuring continued American leadership in A.I., and help shape and coordinate A.I. policy across Government, including working with the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology,’ Trump wrote. ‘Sriram started his career at Microsoft as a founding member of Windows Azure.’