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A Chinese fishing vessel off the coast of Somalia has come under the control of alleged pirates, a European Union anti-piracy force operating in the area said Thursday.

The ship, with up to 18 crew members, had been taken over by the suspected pirates, some of whom were armed with AK-47s and machine guns, the European Union Naval Force Operation Atalanta said in a statement.

It classified the incident as a robbery at sea and said none of the crew had been injured.

The force had responded to an alert from police in Somalia’s semi-autonomous northeastern Puntland region that a Chinese ship off the coast had allegedly been hijacked, its statement said.

China has yet to comment on the situation, which occurred in a key region for its overseas naval activities guarding the country’s expanded footprint and economic interests in Africa and the Middle East.

The People’s Liberation Army Navy has since 2008 conducted anti-piracy operations around the Gulf of Aden along Somalia’s northern coast as one of a number of major powers seeking to secure shipping routes in the face of rampant piracy.

And since 2017 China has operated its only overseas military base in Djibouti, also on the Horn of Africa.

The latest incident comes amid a recent uptick in piracy in the area, which is close to key international shipping lanes through the Suez Canal and Red Sea.

The slow resurgence follows attacks by Houthi rebels on commercial shipping in the Red Sea in retaliation for Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza. The attacks, which began late last year and decreased in the spring, upended global trade – and diluted the attention of international naval forces in the region, observers say.

The EU’s Operation Atalanta recorded 19 attacks by suspected pirates so far this year – the highest number since 2012, according to data from the force, which operates in waters around the Horn of Africa and the Western Indian Ocean.

That’s still a far cry from the peak of 2011 when there were 212 attacks, the data shows.

The earlier decline is widely attributed to coordinated and UN-backed international efforts, including from NATO, the EU and UN Security Council permanent members, which gained steam from 2008.

The Chinese navy’s now-longstanding anti-piracy task force began conducting escort missions in the Gulf of Aden and the waters off Somalia in December 2008 after a spate of attacks on Chinese vessels.

At the time, the start of that taskforce marked a step forward in China’s efforts to use its growing international clout and economic strength to address shared international issues.

China’s navy has since run more than 40 escort missions of international and Chinese vessels in the region, but did not join a US-led multinational coalition to protect ships transiting the Red Sea against the Houthi attacks.

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A week of fierce demonstrations in Georgia has seen special forces violently handling protesters who are challenging the government’s controversial decision to delay its bid to join the European Union.

The former Soviet republic has known protests before, but many say these are larger and more vicious. Many Georgians feel they are on the cusp of returning to the one-party rule from which they escaped a generation ago and say they will protest for as long as it takes, despite the ruthless response.

Tensions were simmering in the country since a disputed election in October. The ruling Georgian Dream party – already 12 years in office – claimed victory, but observers say the vote was neither free nor fair. The European Parliament has called for a re-run.

Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced on November 28 his government would suspend accession talks with the EU, which some 80% of Georgians support joining. His Georgian Dream party had even made joining the bloc a constitutional commitment.

Within hours, thousands descended on the parliament in the capital, Tbilisi, to demand the government honor its promises.

He watched as Salome Zourabichvili – the country’s pro-Western president, in a standoff with her own government – confronted a wall of police, knocking on their riot shields and asking: “Who do you serve, Georgia or Russia?”

Later, the police were bolstered by dozens of masked men. Although they have been present at protests before, their numbers were far greater this week, demonstrators said. Unlike ordinary police officers, these men do not wear uniforms showing their department and rank. “They don’t have any identifiable signs,” Keshelashvili said.

Some of them confronted Keshelashvili as he stood by the parliament with other journalists. Suddenly, he said, they pulled him away from the group and began to beat him.

“I was shouting, ‘I’m a journalist,’” Keshelashvili said, adding that he tried to explain he was just doing his job.

Next, he was thrown into what he described as a “beating corridor”: Around a dozen men punched him, then kicked him when he fell to the floor. He said he lost consciousness.

When he awoke, both of his cameras had been stolen. “We are not a very big media outlet. We don’t have much money to buy these things,” he said.

After being taken into custody, Keshelashvili said he would have spent a night in a cell, if a doctor had not seen him and said he needed urgent surgery. His nose had been broken in several places.

Down the street, more violence was unfolding. Guram Rogava, a presenter with Formula TV, was broadcasting live outside the parliament, reporting on the police response as it ramped up around him. After finishing his shot, Rogava began to move towards a sidewalk. When his back was turned, a masked man was seen running behind him and striking the back of his head.

Rogava was seen with blood streaming down his face as his colleagues tried to help him. He later learned he had fractured a cervical vertebra in his neck. His doctor said if the bone moves much more, “I could lose control of my hands and legs.”

‘Deliberate’ tactic

Aka Zarkua, a journalist at RealPolitika, said the fact that reporters were largely left alone on Sunday night suggested “when they were beating journalists, it was a clear edict from the police riot chief. It was politically motivated.”

Some have said journalists may have been targeted to prevent evidence of police brutality being documented. Mariam Nikuradze, a reporter at OC Media, said the special forces get “angry” when they see their actions being filmed.

Before trial, conditions in custody are grim. The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association, a watchdog, said most individuals arrested on Monday had been “brutally beaten… both during and after their arrest.”

Once in court, cases are seemingly rushed through. Shota Murtskhvaladze, who works in education, said his case was heard overnight Sunday. He asked to postpone the trial, so he could collect video footage from shops near where he was assaulted by special forces, sustaining a minor injury to his face. His request was denied. He was only allowed to bring one witness, despite several of his friends seeing the attack. He said he was fined 3,000 lari (about $1,000) for not complying with a police order to disperse.

‘Men in black’

Shortly before he was assaulted, Rogava had interviewed Khoshtaria on live television. Khoshtaria herself was later attacked multiple times by special forces. She said they “clearly” knew who she was, telling her, “Elene, go away, stop, f**k you” as they grabbed her by the hair and led her away. In a later clash, she fell to the ground, fracturing her hand.

On Wednesday, opposition co-leader Nika Gvaramia was detained by police after he was beaten unconscious by officers in the capital Tbilisi, his party said. Gvaramia represents the Droa party, the party that Khoshtaria founded.

Although the use of special forces is troubling, Khoshtaria said it is a sign of the regime’s weakness. Unlike fully-fledged autocratic states like Belarus, she said Georgian Dream does not have enough police willing to mete out violence against civilians so they rely on a few hundred masked men instead.

With the protests now raging every night for a week, Khoshtaria said the opposition movement is in a battle of endurance with the government and its agents. “They are exhausted,” she said of the government. “They thought that there would be a small crowd of people in front of the parliament. What they got is the whole of Tbilisi coming out – and also in the regions.”

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The Japanese capital is set to introduce a four-day workweek for all government employees, in its latest push to help working mothers and boost record-low fertility rates.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government says the new arrangement, which begins in April, could give employees three days off every week. It separately announced another policy that will allow parents with children in grades one to three in elementary schools to trade off a bit of their salary for the option to clock out early.

“We will review work styles … with flexibility, ensuring no one has to give up their career due to life events such as childbirth or childcare,” said Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike when she unveiled the plan in a policy speech on Wednesday.

“Now is the time for Tokyo to take the initiative to protect and enhance the lives, livelihoods and economy of our people during these challenging times for the nation,” she added.

Japan’s fertility rate, which has seen a precipitous fall for many years, reached another record low in June, even as the government ramped up efforts to encourage young people to get married and start families.

Only 727,277 births were recorded last year, with the fertility rate – the number of children a woman has in her lifetime – dropping to a fresh low of 1.2, according to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. For a population to remain stable, it needs a fertility rate of 2.1.

The Japanese government has been pushing for a raft of “now or never” policies to reverse the population crisis, including ensuring men to take paternity leaves, while other local governments have also introduced measures to improve work conditions.

Many sociologists attribute the ever-plunging birth rates to Japan’s unforgiving work culture and rising costs of living. Grueling hours have long been a problem for corporate Japan where workers often suffer from health hazards and, in extreme cases, “karoshi,” a term meaning death by over work.

As in other countries, women are often under pressure to choose between their career or family, but Japan’s unique overtime work culture makes pregnancy and raising children especially daunting.

In fact, according to the World Bank, the gender gap in the country’s labor force participation, which stood at 55% for women and 72% for men last year, is higher than other high-income nations.

The shift to a four-day workweek has sparked growing interest in the West, where some companies are beginning to explore compressed hours as a way to attract talent seeking better work-life balance. Some studies have shown that it improves well-being and productivity among workers.

But the idea is still seen as radical for Japanese companies, which often equates time spent at work with loyalty for the company.

And Tokyo isn’t the only place in Asia to implement more family friendly policies. Earlier this year, Singapore introduced new guidelines requiring all firms to consider requests by employees for flexible-working arrangements. That could include four-day weeks or flexible hours.

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An American man abducted in the Philippines is presumed dead after a witness claimed he was shot during a struggle with his captors, the Philippines News Agency reported, citing police.

Elliot Eastman, from Vermont, was abducted on October 17, near his home in Sibuco, on the island of Mindanao, where he’d been living with his wife and regularly posting videos on YouTube of his life there.

Regional police spokesman Lt. Col. Ramoncelio Sawan told media Thursday that the witness told them that Eastman was shot twice by his captors on the night of his abduction as they ferried him away from the scene.

“We are constrained to believe that he has died. All of the information that we have points to that,” Sawan said, according to the Associated Press.

Police are trying to verify the witness’ account but are yet to find Eastman’s body, which the witness said was thrown overboard.

Sawan vowed to bring the perpetrators to justice to protect foreigners living in the area.

Police have made several arrests during their search for Eastman, with three suspects killed in a gunbattle with the police last month, according to the Associated Press.

Sibuco is in the western region of Mindanao, the country’s second-largest island, which is home to several Islamist insurgent groups and has long been a hotbed of insurgency in the country of majority Catholics.

Police have said the present case is unlikely linked to Muslim rebels, according to the Associated Press.

The US State Department advises citizens to reconsider travel to Mindanao due to the risk of “crime, terrorism, civil unrest and kidnapping.”

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The Supreme Court (SCOTUS) began hearing oral arguments for the high-profile case involving Tennessee’s ban on transgender medical procedures for minors on Wednesday, and one expert is saying the historic case shows ‘the pendulum is swinging.’ 

The case, U.S. v. Skrmetti, will decide whether Tennessee’s ban on transgender medical procedures is constitutional and could impact whether states will enact more bans and allow individuals to sue medical providers. 

‘I think you’re finding more of these people willing and certainly wanting to sue the pharmaceutical companies, as well as the doctors who prescribe medication or did the surgery,’ Mat Staver, chairman of nonprofit legal group Liberty Counsel, told Fox News Digital in an interview. 

‘So I think that the pendulum is swinging,’ said Staver, whose legal group filed an amicus brief in support of Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti. ‘So even no matter what the Supreme Court does, I think the lawsuits will ultimately be the death mill of this kind of intervention.’

As oral arguments commenced Wednesday morning, supporters and opponents of gender transition treatments gathered outside the SCOTUS building holding transgender Pride flags and ‘Kids’ Health Matters.’ Over the course of more than two hours, the justices listened to each side present their arguments and asked questions.

The court’s ruling could affect other current legal fights over transgender rights, including bathroom access and participation in scholastic sports. It could also serve as a legal template for future disputes involving the LGBTQ community and whether sexual orientation is a ‘protected class’ that deserves the same rights that involve a person’s race and national origin.

Staver said appellate courts have consistently upheld state bans on gender-affirming care for minors, though some lower court rulings have been overturned on appeal. He predicts the Supreme Court will likely follow this trend, framing the issue as one of regulating medical procedures rather than a question of constitutional protection. 

‘I think it’s really a question of whether or not this rises to a level of constitutional protection, which I don’t think it does,’ Staver said.

The Biden administration joined the lawsuit by filing a petition to the Supreme Court in November 2023. The Department of Justice argued that the Tennessee law, which limits access to puberty blockers and hormone therapies for transgender minors, violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. This clause requires equal treatment of individuals in similar circumstances under the law.

‘It is no surprise to my mind that this is something I believe the Biden administration would love to hang its hat on as a victory for so-called transgender rights,’ Heritage Foundation senior legal fellow Sarah Perry told Fox News Digital. 

The administration’s petition emphasized the ‘urgent need’ for Supreme Court review, citing the impact on families who risk losing essential medical care. The DOJ also highlighted the broader implications of similar laws in other states, arguing that the bans disproportionately target transgender youth while permitting similar treatment for non-transgender minors.

‘But I will say this is going to present a very interesting potential, about FACE [The Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act] with the incoming Trump administration, they have made very clear during the campaign that they want to restrict these procedures for minors,’ Perry said.

‘So the Department of Justice under President Trump has an opportunity to reverse course, to file a motion to dismiss, voluntarily dismiss the case, and then it presents an interesting question: what do the justices do?’ she added.

The case comes as transgender issues have become a hotly debated topic in the country’s culture wars. Several large medical groups, including the American Medical Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Psychological Association and American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, all endorse transgender medical procedures for children. 

Meanwhile, more than 26 states have either restricted or passed laws banning them.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti told reporters after the arguments, ‘The Constitution allows the states to protect kids from unproven, life-altering procedures based on uncertain science.’

A ruling is expected by July 2025.

Fox News’ Shannon Bream and Bill Mears contributed to this report.

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President Biden’s White House is reportedly considering preemptive pardons for Dr. Anthony Fauci, Sen.-elect Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo. 

White House counsel Ed Siskel is arranging discussions about the potential pardons with several other senior Biden aides, including chief of staff Jeff Zients, Politico reported, citing senior Democrats familiar with the talks. 

The president, who granted a sweeping pardon to his son, Hunter, for the past 11 years of crimes or potential crimes earlier this week, reportedly has not been roped in on the deliberations, according to Politico. 

The conversations included whether Fauci, Schiff or Cheney would even accept a preemptive pardon, which could suggest wrongdoing and exacerbate criticisms brought by President-elect Trump’s team. 

‘I would urge the president not to do that,’ Schiff told Politico. ‘I think it would seem defensive and unnecessary.’

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment but did not immediately hear back. 

Trump’s appointment of Kash Patel to be the next FBI director reportedly drove the talks of preemptive pardons amid concern of possible forthcoming inquiries or indictments once the new administration takes over in January. 

Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., who hosted Biden in battleground Pennsylvania before the election, called on the president to issue blanket pardons when Patel’s nomination was announced – though he did not specify the intended recipients. 

‘By choosing Kash Patel as his FBI Director, Trump has made it clear that he is more focused on settling personal scores than on protecting the American people or upholding the rule of law. Patel has openly published an ‘enemies list’ in his book, naming individuals he and Trump plan to investigate and prosecute – targeting those who stood up to Trump’s lies, abuses of power, and baseless attempts to overturn the 2020 election. This is no hypothetical threat,’ Boyle said in a statement. ‘The people they’re targeting include law enforcement officers, military personnel, and others who have spent their lives protecting this country. These patriots shouldn’t have to live in fear of political retribution for doing what’s right. That’s why I’m urging President Biden to issue a blanket pardon for anyone unjustly targeted by this vindictive scheme.’

Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., also spoke in favor of preemptive pardons last week, noting how former President Gerald Ford granted one to Richard Nixon. 

‘If it’s clear by January 19 that [revenge] is his intention, then I would recommend to President Biden that he provide those preemptive pardons to people, because that’s really what our country is going to need next year,’ Markey told WGBH.

Schiff and Cheney both led the Jan. 6 select committee that investigated the U.S. Capitol riot. 

Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), is under renewed scrutiny this week in light of the over 500-page final report dropped by the House subcommittee that has been investigating government response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The report – which found that COVID-19 most likely emerged from a laboratory in Wuhan, China – supported how Fauci ‘played a critical role in disparaging the lab-leak theory’ among top scientific circles early in 2020 and later to the public. His congressional testimony to Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., the report states, misled the public regarding National Institute of Health (NIH) funding of gain-of-function research at coronavirus labs. 

It goes on to cite how Fauci testified that the six-foot social distancing rule imposed on Americans ‘sort of just appeared’ and did not support quality scientific standards, when he was grilled on what studies he and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had reviewed before announcing the policy. He also gave similarly vague testimony when asked what science supported K-12 public school mask mandates. 

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Many Americans don’t trust the federal government, and Elon Musk — an eccentric billionaire business tycoon tasked by President-elect Donald Trump with helping slay the unwieldly bureaucratic leviathan — thinks that’s just the right attitude.

‘I think we should not trust the government,’ Musk has previously declared.

Apparently, people are way ahead of him. 

‘As of April 2024, 22% of Americans say they trust the government in Washington to do what is right ‘just about always’ (2%) or ‘most of the time’ (21%),’ Pew Research Center noted earlier this year.

Trump tapped Musk and self-identified ‘small-government crusader’ Vivek Ramaswamy to helm the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an effort that puts Washington D.C.’s profligate spending in the crosshairs.

‘We will serve as outside volunteers, not federal officials or employees. Unlike government commissions or advisory committees, we won’t just write reports or cut ribbons. We’ll cut costs,’ the dynamic duo declared in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece last month.

Ramaswamy appears to share similar views to Musk on public trust in government.

‘The reason the people don’t trust the government is that the government doesn’t trust the people. In God we trust and government we distrust,’ Ramaswamy declared in a post on X last year.

But in order to realize their cost-cutting ambitions, Musk and Ramaswamy will need to get government figures on board with their plans.

Lawmakers met with the two entrepreneurs in D.C. on Thursday.

‘Under President Trump, we will take a blowtorch to the administrative state and reduce the size and scope of government. House and Senate Republicans look forward to hosting Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy tomorrow to discuss how the Department of Government Efficiency can help us get it done,’ House Speaker Mike Johnson said in a Wednesday post on X.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Lawmakers told Fox News Digital they are ‘very impressed’ with President-elect Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) framework amid meetings on Capitol Hill with agency appointees Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.

In November, Trump tapped Tesla CEO Musk and former presidential candidate Ramaswamy to co-lead DOGE under his administration — a new federal department that will aim to reduce government waste and slash costs. 

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa., chair of the Senate’s DOGE Caucus, led a meeting with senators Thursday to unveil a 60-page cost-cutting proposal. Ramawasy was present at the meeting, while Musk simultaneously sat down with incoming Senate Majority Leader Sen. John Thune of South Dakota.

‘I’m very impressed with what Elon and Vivek want to accomplish,’ Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., told Fox News Digital after leaving the DOGE Caucus meeting. ‘I can’t talk about what they are going to be proposing, but I’ve known them for a long time, and I think they’re going to do a great job.’

While senators who attended the meeting would not reveal specifically where DOGE intends to cut costs, they all agreed that the conversation was productive.

‘It showed a lot of us are on the same page,’ Sen. Ted Budd, R-N.C., said of Thursday’s chat. ‘We need to make government serve people again.’

Budd added that he believes Musk and Ramaswamy are ‘the right people for the moment’ to cut government costs.

Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., told Fox News Digital that DOGE is rolling out ‘hundreds of ideas’ aimed towards achieving a ‘balanced budget.’

‘It was just a great conversation,’ Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., said after leaving the meeting.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said, ‘We talked about a lot of things. This is the very beginning of a process that, if we do it right, will be ongoing. So right now, we are just talking about the art of the possible.’ 

Tillis added that he believes Democrats will come on board with DOGE. 

Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan of Arkansas said his top priority in addressing costs is fixing ‘the regulatory burden and litigation abuse to do anything in America.’

Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine also told reporters that it was a ‘good meeting.’

During Thursday’s DOGE caucus meeting, Ernst proposed the federal government relocate Washington’s workforce across the country, and for Congress to set a goal for all federal government agencies to achieve a 60% daily occupancy at their headquarters.

Ernst’s report found that only 6% of workers currently report in-person on a full-time basis, with nearly one-third working remotely, according to a copy shared with Fox News Digital.

Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report.

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President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to head the Department of Defense, Pete Hegseth, spent another day courting support from Republican senators on Capitol Hill and taking a few questions from reporters while he was at it. 

The military vet turned ‘Fox & Friends’ co-host met with senators Rick Scott, R-Fla.; Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss; Mike Rounds, R-S.D.; Ron Johnson, R-Wis.; Tom Cotton, R-Ark.; and Sen.-elect Jim Banks, R-Ind., Thursday. 

The meetings followed others Hegseth held earlier in the week with GOP senators, including Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., who will be the next chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. 

Hegseth has been facing a mountain of criticism with accusations against him ranging from fiscal mismanagement to alcoholism to sexual misconduct. Nevertheless, Hegseth said Thursday while walking between meetings on Capitol Hill that Trump supports him ‘fully.’

‘I’ll tell you why I support him,’ Scott told reporters after his meeting Thursday with Hegseth. ‘I admire people who are willing to put on the uniform and lead troops into battle. … When he goes in the Department of Defense, he will walk in with the mentality that he’s going to take care of our warfighters.’

Scott added that he will do ‘everything’ he can to ensure Hegseth is confirmed.

‘Pete Hegseth won’t back down from the media or the Pentagon bureaucracy,’ Banks added after his own one-on-one meeting with the defense nominee. ‘And he won’t back down from China, Russia or Iran. He will help President Trump make America strong again.’

Between meetings on Capitol Hill Thursday, Hegseth was pressed about his meeting a day earlier with Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa. Ernst said earlier Thursday morning she was not yet willing to throw her support behind him.

‘Productive meeting. Excellent,’ Hegseth said of his meeting with Ernst as he was peppered with questions during his meeting with Rounds. 

‘Constructive, candid. It was great,’ Hegseth told a different reporter. 

When asked if the allegations about him were a topic of his conversation with Ernst, Hegseth declined to comment further, citing the private nature of their conversation.

‘It’s been a wonderful process,’ Hegseth told reporters Thursday. ‘There’s an incredible amount of knowledge in the U.S. Senate — in the Senate Armed Services Committee — men and women who have studied these issues, have invested their lives in it. And as someone who is hoping to earn their support as the nominee for secretary of defense, I welcome that knowledge, I welcome that advice. And that’s why we’re here in all these meetings.’

Hegseth’s meetings Thursday coincided with visits to Capitol Hill by Tesla CEO Elon Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. The pair convened on Capitol Hill to discuss their new role running President-elect Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency with Thune.

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The House of Representatives rejected a bid by Democrats to force the release of an ethics report into former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., on Thursday evening. 

Rep. Sean Casten, D-Ill., filed a measure known as a ‘privileged resolution’ to make the Gaetz report public, a maneuver that forces House leaders to take up a resolution within two legislative days.

It was shot down before a final vote, however, on a margin of 206 to 198. 

House lawmakers voted to refer Casten’s resolution to the relevant committee for consideration. It’s highly unlikely a GOP-controlled committee would take it up, however, meaning the move essentially defeated the Democrat’s effort.

Just one Republican, Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., voted with Democrats to table the measure.

Gaetz abruptly resigned from Congress last month in a now-failed bid to be President-elect Donald Trump’s next attorney general.

His resignation also came just before the House Ethics Committee was set to consider the release of its report into the Florida Republican.

The panel had been conducting a years-long investigation into accusations against Gaetz that involved sex with a minor and illicit drug use.

But its jurisdiction ended when Gaetz left Congress, and Republicans have shown little appetite to buck tradition and release a report on someone who has departed Congress.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters last month that he was against releasing the report.

‘I do not believe that that is an appropriate thing. It doesn’t follow our rules and traditionsand there is a reason for that. That would open up Pandora’s box and I don’t think that’s a healthy thing for the institution,’ he said.

Meanwhile, the House Ethics Committee has met twice since Gaetz’s resignation and failed to come to an agreement both times on whether to release the report.

The most recent meeting occurred hours before Thursday’s vote.

Gaetz, for his part, has consistently denied any wrongdoing. A federal investigation into the allegations ended without charges against Gaetz.

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