The Senatevoted to advance its annual $895 billion defense policy bill, a signal that the legislation is on track to pass despite Democratic grumblings over a transgender care provision.

A vote to invoke cloture, or pass an agreement to limit debate, on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) passed the Senate 63 to 7 on Monday evening. The bill now heads to a final vote later this week.

The legislation passed the House last week 281-140, with 16 Republicans voting no. Only 81 Democrats voted yes – 124 voting no – a much larger margin than in years passed when the legislation typically enjoyed bipartisan support. 

The 1,800-page bill details how $895.2 billion allocated toward defense and national security will be spent. It will be voted on more than two months after the start of the fiscal year. 

The $895.2 billion represents a 1% increase over last year’s budget, a smaller number than some defense hawks would have liked. 

A significant portion of the legislation focused on quality-of-life improvements for service members amid record recruitment issues, a focus of much bipartisan discussion over the last year. That includes a 14.5% pay increase for junior enlisted troops and increasing access to child care for service members while also providing job support to military spouses.

The measure authorizes a 4.5% across-the-board pay raise for all service members starting Jan. 1. 

The NDAA typically enjoys wide bipartisan support, but this year’s focus on eliminating ‘woke’ policies was hard for some Democrats to stomach. 

The policy proposal to prohibit Tricare, the military’s health care provider, from covering transgender services for the minor dependents of service members has raised concerns, prompting the leading Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, Rep. Adam Smith of Washington, to reconsider his support for the bill.

‘Blanketly denying health care to people who clearly need it, just because of a biased notion against transgender people, is wrong,’ he said in a statement. ‘This provision injected a level of partisanship not traditionally seen in defense bills.’

The goal of that provision is to prevent any ‘medical interventions that could result in sterilization’ of minors.

Other provisions, like a blanket ban on funding for gender transition surgeries for adults, did not make their way into the bill, neither did a ban on requiring masks to prevent the spread of diseases. 

The bill also supports deploying the National Guard to the southern border to help with illegal immigrant apprehensions and drug flow. 

Another provision opens the door to allowing airmen and Space Force personnel to grow facial hair; it directs the secretary of the Air Force to brief lawmakers on ‘the feasibility and advisability’ of establishing a pilot program to test out allowing beards. 

Democrats are also upset the bill did not include a provision expanding access to IVF for service members. Currently, military health care only covers IVF for troops whose infertility is linked to service-related illness or injury.

But the bill did not include an amendment to walk back a provision allowing the Pentagon to reimburse service members who have to travel out of state to get an abortion.

The bill extends a hiring freeze on DEI-related roles and stops all such recruitment until ‘an investigation of the Pentagon’s DEI programs’ can be completed.

It also bans the Defense Department from contracting with advertising companies ‘that blacklist conservative news sources,’ according to an internal GOP memo.

The memo said the NDAA also guts funding for the Biden administration’s ‘Countering Extremist Activity Working Group’ dedicated to rooting out extremism in the military’s ranks. The annual defense policy bill also does not authorize ‘any climate change programs’ and prohibits the Pentagon from issuing climate impact-based guidance on weapons systems.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., touted $31 billion in savings in the legislation that would come from cutting ‘inefficient programs, obsolete weapons, and bloated Pentagon bureaucracy.’

The compromise NDAA bill, negotiated between Republican and Democrat leadership, sets policy for the nation’s largest government agency, but a separate defense spending bill must be passed to allocate funds for such programs.

President-elect Trump claims that President Biden’s administration ‘knows what is happening’ regarding unexplained drone sightings over New Jersey, New York and other states.

Trump made the statement Monday during a lengthy press conference with reporters at Mar-a-Lago, saying the U.S. military certainly knows the origin of the drones.

‘The government knows what is happening. Look, our military knows where they took off from. If it’s a garage they can go right inside. They know where it came from and where it went,’ Trump said.

‘For some reason, they don’t want to comment, and I think they’d be better off saying what it is. Our military knows. Our president knows, and for some reason they want to keep people in suspense,’ he continued. ‘I can’t imagine it’s the enemy, because if it was the enemy they’d blast it.’

A reporter then asked Trump whether he had received any classified briefings regarding the drone situation. He responded that ‘I don’t want to comment on that.’

Trump’s statement comes roughly a day after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called on the Department of Homeland Security to deploy 360-degree radar systems capable of detecting drones to the New York and New Jersey regions.

‘Our local people who have questions about these drones should not have to shake an eight ball to get an answer,’ Schumer said, holding up a magic eight ball toy in one hand and an image of a drone in another.

‘They want real answers, and the Robin can supply those answers, and that’s why we want them here,’ Schumer said, likely referencing the Dutch company Robin Radar Systems, which produces such systems.

The website of Robin Radar Systems notes, ‘Bird, bat, or drone, our 360° radar systems log thousands of observations, scanning every second to track and classify with precision.’

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement on Sunday, ‘In response to my calls for additional resources, our federal partners are deploying a state-of-the-art drone detection system to New York State.’ 

Fox News’ Alex Nitzberg contributed to this report.

A top aide on Vice President Harris’ failed presidential campaign recently called for more cultural voices like the vocal anti-America and anti-Israel Twitch star, Hasan Piker, who previously faced backlash for saying that ‘America deserved 9/11.’

Harris’ former deputy campaign manager, Rob Flaherty, said during a recent interview that Democrats are ‘losing hold of culture’ and laid out a strategy for them to develop a ‘whole thriving system’ ahead of future elections.

‘We need a whole thriving ecosystem,’ Flaherty told Semafor. ‘It’s not just Pod Save America, though I think we should have more of them. It’s not just Hasan Piker. We should have more Hasan Pikers. It’s also the cultural creators, the folks who are one rung out who influence the nonpartisan audience. Those things all need to happen together.’

‘The reality is it’s not going to be big media organizations. It’s going to be a network and a constellation of individual personalities, because that’s how people get their information now,’ he added.

Flaherty, who previously served as the director of digital strategy for the Biden White House, is likely to face backlash for calling for ‘more Hasan Pikers’ due to Piker’s past controversial comments. Piker, who previously raised more than $1 million for Palestinian aid, has used his platform with millions of followers to downplay and justify terrorist attacks such as Oct. 7 and 9/11 as acts of resistance in recent years.

During a 2019 livestream, Piker praised the ‘brave f—ing soldier’ who wounded conservative U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, while he was deployed to Afghanistan as a Navy SEAL, asking, ‘Didn’t he go to war and, like, literally lose his eye because some mujahideen, a brave f—ing soldier, f—ed his eyehole with their d—?’

He went on to say that ‘America deserved 9/11, I’m saying it,’ before later walking it back and saying it was ‘inappropriate.’ However, in another stream this year, Piker joked about 9/11 again, saying, ‘Oh my god, 9/11 2 is going to be so sick’ and ‘give Saudi Arabia a nuke so they can do 9/11 2.’

In another stream, Piker broadcast propaganda from the Houthis, an Iranian-backed group in Yemen that has been designated by the U.S. as a terrorist group. Instead of explicitly addressing the materials as questionable propaganda, the streamer instead expressed sympathy and admiration for the group.

‘They do musicals about, like, their f—ing actions all the time,’ Piker said of the terrorist propaganda. ‘They love walking over like the American flag and the Israeli flag, side by side.’

‘They do not care about the heavy missiles … they will literally take the war to them no matter what. … For them, it’s an act of resistance. You know what I mean?’ he added.

‘It doesn’t matter if f—ing rapes happened on Oct. 7,‘ Piker said in a May 22 stream. ‘It doesn’t change the dynamic [of Palestinians and Israelis] for me.’

During an April 18 stream, Piker also expressed that Hamas was the ‘lesser evil’ next to the Israeli military.

While Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and others have been on Piker’s platform, Dem Rep. Ritchie Torres of New York wrote a letter this year to top executives at Twitch and Amazon expressing ‘alarm about the amplification of antisemitism on Twitch at the hands of Hasan Piker’ and said Piker has ’emerged as the poster child for the post-October 7th outbreak of antisemitism in America.’

‘Outside the context of October 7th, Mr. Piker has even joked and mused about men date-raping women on a college campus and has posted an image of a handgun on top of a United States Senator in what appears to be open invitation to gun violence against a sitting elected official,’ Torres said. ‘Inviting one’s followers to shoot an elected official, whether it be done in earnest or in jest, is the kind of threat that warrants serious attention from federal law enforcement.’

Piker’s Twitch streams regularly hit more than a million views and often have as many as 30,000 viewers at a given time.  

Fox News Digital reached out to Flaherty for comment but did not receive a response.

Fox News’ Andrea Margolis contributed reporting.

President-elect Trump announced his nominations for U.S. ambassadors to five countries on Monday, including Austria and Japan.

In a series of Truth Social posts on Monday night, the incoming president detailed his picks for the U.S. ambassadors to Japan, the Dominican Republic, Austria, Luxembourg and Uruguay. Each nominee will need to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

Trump named George Edward Glass, a former U.S. ambassador to Portugal, to serve as the incoming U.S. ambassador to Japan.

‘As a former President of an Investment Bank, George will bring his business acumen to the Ambassador’s position,’ Trump said of Glass. ‘George graduated from the University of Oregon, served as Alumni President, and on its Board of Trustees. He will always PUT AMERICA FIRST. Congratulations George!’

Leah Francis Campos, the sister of ‘Fox & Friends Weekend’ co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy and sister-in-law to incoming Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, was also picked to be an ambassador. Trump nominated her to serve as U.S. ambassador to the Dominican Republic.

‘Leah served our Country as a CIA Case Officer before becoming Senior Advisor for the Western Hemisphere on the House Foreign Affairs Committee,’ the Republican wrote. ‘Leah will take her love of Country, and commitment to our National Security and Prosperity, to her post as U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic. Congratulations Leah!’

Trump also announced Arthur Graham Fisher, the president of Fisher Realty, as his pick for U.S. ambassador to Austria.

‘He has been consistently ranked as a top broker in the area, and the State of North Carolina, representing many of the most astute clients in America,’ the incoming president wrote. ‘Art has been a staunch supporter of America First Policies, and will make us proud in Austria!’

Trump added that Stacey Feinberg and Lou Rinaldi will serve as U.S. ambassadors to Luxembourg and Uruguay, respectively.

‘As a Producer of Broadway musicals, a motivational speaker, and a Board Member of the Women Founders Network, Stacey is committed to supporting women in launching their careers, and scaling their businesses to unprecedented success,’ Trump wrote of Feinberg. ‘Stacy will be GREAT, and make America proud!’

Of Rinaldi, Trump called his nominee a ‘successful businessman, entrepreneur, and longtime friend,’ who grew up in Uruguay.

‘Lou is a great golfer, and will be in a Country with some terrific courses. Having grown up in Uruguay, he possesses an intimate understanding of the Country’s culture and history,’ Trump’s statement read. ‘His expertise and background make him exceptionally qualified to advance U.S. interests, and strengthen the longstanding partnership between the United States and Uruguay.’

Fox News’ Deirdre Heavy contributed to this report.

President-elect Donald Trump dispelled rumors Monday that his administration would seek to ban the polio vaccine, telling reporters Monday, ‘that’s not going to happen.’ 

Questions about how Trump’s nominee for Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has made a name for himself challenging the efficacy of vaccines, and on Friday the New York Times published a report that raised concerns he will attempt to ban the polio vaccine. According to the report, a lawyer assisting Kennedy with staffing the department, previously petitioned to pause the distribution of 13 vaccines while working for nonprofit Informed Consent Action Network, including a vaccine for polio. 

The report spurred criticism of Kennedy’s nomination, including from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who said ‘efforts to undermine public confidence in proven cures are … dangerous.’  

When asked by reporters during a press conference from Trump’s Mar-A-Lago resort whether his administration would ban the vaccine, Trump replied ‘No,’ but said he wanted Kennedy ‘to come back with a report as to what he thinks’ about the polio vaccine.

‘We’re going to have reports – nothing is going to happen very quickly,’ Trump told reporters. ‘I think you’re going to find that [Kennedy] is much – he’s a very rational guy. I found him to be very rational.’

‘You’re not going to lose the polio vaccine, that’s not going to happen,’ Trump reiterated. 

Trump pointed out to reporters that he has friends who have been affected by the poliovirus and noted how when they took the vaccine ‘it ended.’ He also lauded Dr. Jonas Salk, inventor of the first polio vaccine, for his efforts to help people like his friends. 

While Trump’s response squashed rumors his administration was planning on banning the polio vaccine, he did raise concern about the rising rates of autism in the United States, which Kennedy has linked to vaccines in the past.

‘We’re going to look into finding why the Autism rate is so much higher than it was 20, 25, 30 years ago,’ Trump said during his response about banning the polio vaccine. ‘I mean it’s, like, 100 times higher. There’s something wrong and we’re going to try finding that.’

In response to an inquiry about the future of the polio vaccine, a Trump transition team spokesperson said, ‘Mr. Kennedy believes the Polio Vaccine should be available to the public and thoroughly and properly studied.’

A co-chair of the House of Representatives’ Congressional DOGE Caucus said there is ‘real motivation’ behind accomplishing its mission of cutting the federal deficit.

Rep. Blake Moore, R-Utah, is House GOP Conference vice chair and the No. 6 House Republican, and recently joined Reps. Aaron Bean, R-Fla., and Pete Sessions, R-Texas, in leading the caucus.

The group’s name is an acronym for Delivering Outstanding Government Efficiency, coinciding with the Department of Government Efficiency – also DOGE for short – a new advisory panel commissioned by President-elect Trump and led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.

The caucus’ first meeting is slated for Tuesday. Moore said he hopes they can ‘create some structure on what we want to accomplish and set some initial first easy wins.’

He did not elaborate on what those wins would be, but suggested one of the caucus’ main goals would be delivering recommendations to Musk and Ramaswamy on how to make the federal government more efficient.

‘We’ve got people that have great ideas from their various committees on things, areas that we can find efficiencies, and just get that all on paper and eventually, you know, provide some recommendations,’ Moore said.

The Utah Republican is hopeful that his unique position as a member of House leadership will allow him to be a conduit between the caucus and fellow congressional leaders.

‘I was looking for another opportunity to help serve the conference,’ Moore said of his decision to become a co-chair. ‘There is a ton of bipartisan work that’s already been done on this type of stuff for years leading up to it. We needed this moment as a catalyst to do it. So I am just thrilled to be a part of the leadership team.’

He also suggested that the enthusiasm for DOGE was unlike anything he’d seen for prior government initiatives.

‘There’s real motivation behind this, and the American people are galvanized by this. For example, I’m the chair, co-chair of the Ski and Snowboard caucus. Utah has… got the best ski – greatest snow on earth and all that. That doesn’t draw the attention,’ Moore said.

‘But I became a co-chair also of the DOGE Caucus, and you could tell a widespread interest in this from both media back home [and] constituents. We have to honor that.’

Moore also dismissed concerns that DOGE’s internet meme-inspired branding might make people take it less seriously, arguing instead that it will help make Americans enthusiastic about the mission.

‘Doge’ is also the name of an internet meme popular in the 2010s, depicting a Shiba Inu and frequently accompanied by phrases in broken English representing the dog’s supposed internal monologue.

Musk has made no secret of his affinity for the meme, and even coined the name ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ while posting references to it on X, formerly Twitter, before Trump made it a reality. He’s also promoted a cryptocurrency of the same name.

‘I’ve never seen so much excitement and engagement from my constituents,’ Moore said. ‘The fact that it’s the Doge, I think this is how people connect now. Like, you know, that’s a good thing because it makes it relatable. And so I think it’s definitely something that kind of makes people laugh a little bit and just find the irony in it.’

‘Whatever can get people’s attention, you have to use that for good. Then you’ve got potential for impact.’

With former president and now President-elect Donald Trump unable to run again for the White House in 2028, Vice President-elect JD Vance appears to be the heir apparent to the America First movement and the Republican Party’s powerful MAGA base.

But even though the 40-year-old Vance will be considered the front-runner in the next GOP presidential nomination race, the chair of the Republican National Committee says the party will hold to its traditional role of staying neutral in an open and contested presidential primary.

‘We will,’ RNC chair Michael Whatley said in a Fox News Digital interview.

Vance, with Trump’s support in a party firmly in the president-elect’s grip, will be very hard to knock off in the 2028 Republican presidential primaries.

‘We are getting four more years of Trump and then eight years of JD Vance,’ Donald Trump Jr. said in October on the campaign trail. 

The younger Trump, who’s a powerful ally of the vice president-elect, is extremely popular with the MAGA base.

‘The vice president will be in the catbird seat. No question about it,’ longtime Republican consultant Dave Carney recently told Fox News Digital. 

Carney, a veteran of numerous Republican presidential campaigns over the past four decades, said that Vance ‘is the guy to beat.’

David Kochel, another longtime GOP strategist with plenty of presidential campaign experience, said that Vance is the front-runner due to ‘the size and the scope’ of Trump’s Electoral College and popular vote victories last month, ‘and the implied passing of the torch from Donald Trump.’

‘There will be no shortage of people looking at it. But most people looking at it are seeing the relative strength of the Trump victory and the movement,’ Kochel said.

However, Kochel noted that ‘nobody will completely defer to JD Vance. There will be a contest. There always is.’

Whatley, who was interviewed a week after Trump asked him to continue as RNC chair moving forward, said he’s ‘very excited about the bench that we have in the Republican Party right now.’

‘You think about all the Republican governors, you think about all the Republican senators, the members of the House that we have, the leaders across the country that have been engaged in this campaign are going to be part of the president’s cabinet,’ he added.

Whatley argued that the president-elect’s ‘America First movement is bigger than Donald Trump. He is the tip of the spear. He is the vanguard of this movement. But. It is a very big movement right now.’

The chairman on Thursday also emphasized that ‘Donald Trump has completely remade the Republican Party. We’re now the working-class party. We’re now a party that is communicating and working with every single voter, speaking to every single voter about the issues that they care about. So, as we go into 2028, we are in a great position to be able to continue the momentum of this agenda and this movement.’

Unlike the rival Democratic National Committee, which in the 2024 cycle upended the traditional presidential nominating calendar, the RNC made no major changes to their primary lineup, and kept the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary as their first two contests.

Asked about the 2028 calendar, Whatley said ‘I’ve not had any conversations with anybody who wants to change the calendar on our side. I know the Democrats did during the course of this election cycle, not sure that it really helped them all that much.’

‘We’re very comfortable with the calendar as it is. But as we move towards 2028, we’ll have those conversations,’ he added.