The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Rex Tillerson as secretary of State, as part of a fast-paced day for majority Republicans who also pushed past Democratic resistance to advance three other President Trump Cabinet picks to a final vote.

The vote to confirm the former ExxonMobil executive as the country’s top diplomat was 56-43.

Earlier in the day, Senate Republicans, frustrated by Democrats’ attempts to delay other Cabinet confirmations, moved swiftly to advance three nominees to a final vote.

On the most contentious nomination, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted along party lines, 11-to-9, to approve Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., for U.S. attorney general.

The move came after Democrats dragged out proceedings a day earlier. The committee advanced Sessions to the floor on an 11-9 vote.

“No doubt we have the votes” to confirm Sessions, said Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, a committee member. “It’s going to get done.”

Senate Democrats have attempted to hold up several of Trump’s Cabinet picks over concerns about their records, as well as Trump’s new policies and recent executive orders on immigration.

Also on Wednesday, the Republican-led Senate Finance Committee sidestepped Senate Democrats’ efforts to slow Trump’s picks for secretaries of Treasury and Health and Human Services by boycotting the votes.

Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, suspended committee rules on the number of members required to vote, to allow Republican members to vote in favor of Steve Mnuchin as Treasury secretary and Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., to serve as Health and Human Services secretary.

Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, the committee’s top Democrat, argued that Hatch broke the rules.

“What you had was a rump group that met in violation of Democratic values to confirm two ethically-challenged nominees,” he told Fox News. “There’s no question about that.”

Mnuchin, Price and Sessions will almost certainly get the required simple majority needed for confirmation because Republicans have 52 senators and Democrats have 48.

Still, Democrats temporarily thwarted a Senate confirmation vote on Trump’s pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt, by again boycotting a key committee meeting.

Senate Environment and Public Works Committee rules require at least two members of the minority party be present for a vote to be held.

Committee Chairman John Barrasso, R-Wyo., called the move “political theatre” and vowed to “do what is necessary” to advance Pruitt’s nomination, raising the possibility the GOP majority may seek a rules change like the one Hatch got to push a vote before the full Senate.

Republicans created their own challenges Wednesday toward confirming Besty DeVos as Education secretary.

GOP Sens. Lisa Murkowski, Alaska, and Susan Collins, Maine, said they won’t vote for DeVos in the final Senate vote.

That would create a 50-to-50 tied. But Republicans remain optimistic, considering GOP Vice President Mike Pence would cast the deciding vote in favor of DeVos.

On Tuesday, Democrats had refused to attend the meeting to consider Mnuchin and Price, demanding more information about the nominees.

Hatch called the Democrats’ decision to boycott the vote “the most pathetic thing.”

“We took some unprecedented actions today due to the unprecedented obstruction on the part of our colleagues,” he also said Wednesday.

The rule requires at least one Democrat be present for a vote. With the rules lifted, the committee advanced the nominations to the floor.

“They should be ashamed,” he said. “The only thing missing was a member from the minority side,” Hatch continued.  But, as I noted, they, on their own accord, refused to participate in this exercise.

Hatch said he made the move after getting an OK from the Senate Parliamentarian Office and that every Republican member of the committee was present and voting, exceeding the one-third requirement for a so-called “quorum.”

FoxNews.com / The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

The White House said late Monday that the country’s new acting attorney general pledged to “defend and enforce” the laws of the country shortly after President Trump fired the former seat holder who refused to enforce his order on immigration.

Trump fired Sally Yates, the acting attorney general and an Obama appointee, in dramatic fashion after she refused to defend in court his refugee and immigration ban. The Wall Street Journal reported that Yates learned of her firing Monday evening in a hand-delivered note from the White House’s Office of Personnel.

The firing came hours after Yates directed Justice Department attorneys not to defend the executive order, saying she was not convinced it was lawful or consistent with the agency’s “obligation to always seek justice and stand for what is right.”

In a statement, Trump said Yates had “betrayed the Department of Justice by refusing to enforce a legal order designed to protect the citizens of the United States.”

He named longtime federal prosecutor Dana J. Boente as Yates’ replacement. Boente served in the Eastern District of Virginia and will remain in the seat while Congress considers the confirmation of Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., which could happen next week.

“Ms. Yates is an Obama administration appointee who is weak on borders and very weak on illegal immigration,” Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, said in a statement. The New York Times reported that Boente was sworn in at 9 p.m. ET, but gave few details about who performed the ceremony.

“I am honored to serve President Trump in this role until Sen. Sessions is confirmed. I will defend and enforce the laws of our country to ensure that our people and our nation are protected,’’ Boente said in a statement released by the White House.

Still, Trump’s order has faced condemnation from executives at top companies, including Goldman Sachs and Coca-Cola. A spokesman for former President Obama said Obama is “heartened” by the protests.

Trump’s policy decision temporarily halted the entire U.S. refugee program and banned all entries from seven Muslim-majority nations for 90 days.

Trump’s order pauses America’s entire refugee program for four months and indefinitely bans all those from war-ravaged Syria. Federal judges in New York and several other states issued orders that temporarily block the government from deporting people with valid visas who arrived after Trump’s travel ban took effect.

At least three top national security officials – Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly and Rex Tillerson, who is awaiting confirmation to lead the State Department – have told associates they were not aware of details of the directive until around the time Trump signed it.

Leading intelligence officials were also left largely in the dark, officials told the Associated Press.

Mattis, who stood next to Trump during Friday’s signing ceremony, is said to be particularly incensed. A senior U.S. official said Mattis, along with Joint Chiefs Chairman Joseph Dunford, was aware of the general concept of Trump’s order but not the details. Tillerson has told the president’s political advisers that he was baffled over not being consulted on the substance of the order.

Trump has also said he believes the voters who carried him to victory support the plan as a necessary step to safeguard the nation. And he’s dismissed objectors as attention-seeking rabble-rousers and grandstanding politicians.

After a chaotic weekend during which some U.S. legal permanent residents were detained at airports, some agencies were moving swiftly to try to clean up after the White House.

“You now have a president who really takes seriously the tremendous threat of international terrorism and is prepared to take steps that are very tough-minded and that are going to inconvenience some people,” former Speaker Newt Gingrich told “Hannity.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report 

Edmund DeMarche is a news editor for FoxNews.com. Follow him on Twitter @EDeMarche.

US President Barack Obama, right, walks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, during a welcoming ceremony prior to their meeting, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Thursday, March. 21, 2013. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

Officials said Monday that the Obama administration– in its waning hours– defied Republican opposition and quietly released $221 million to the Palestinian Authority that GOP members of Congress had been blocking.

A State Department official and several congressional aides told The Associated Press that the outgoing administration formally notified Congress it would spend the money Friday morning.

The official said former Secretary of State John Kerry had informed some lawmakers of the move shortly before he left the State Department for the last time Thursday.

The aides said written notification dated Jan. 20 was sent to Congress just hours before Donald Trump took the oath of office.

In addition to the $221 million for the Palestinians, the Obama administration also told Congress on Friday it was going ahead with the release of another $6 million in foreign affairs spending, including $4 million for climate change programs and $1.25 million for U.N. organizations, the congressional aides said.

The aides and the State Department official weren’t authorized to speak publicly on the matter and demanded anonymity.

Congress had initially approved the Palestinian funding in budget years 2015 and 2016, but at least two GOP lawmakers — Ed Royce of California, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Kay Granger of Texas, who sits on the House Appropriations Committee — had placed holds on it over moves the Palestinian Authority had taken to seek membership in international organizations.

Congressional holds are generally respected by the executive branch but are not legally binding after funds have been allocated.

The Obama administration had for some time been pressing for the release of the money for the Palestinian Authority, which comes from the U.S.

Agency for International Development and is to be used for humanitarian aid in the West Bank and Gaza, to support political and security reforms as well as help prepare for good governance and the rule of law in a future Palestinian state, according to the notification sent to Congress.

The Palestinian funding is likely to draw anger from some in Congress as well as the Trump White House. Trump has vowed to be a strong supporter of Israel and has invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to visit Washington next month.

Some of Trump’s incoming administration has been split on whether to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem.

The Washington Post noted that most of the world doesn’t recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. East Jerusalem is also considered “occupied territory,” which Palestinians hope to call their capital if a two-state solution is ever reached.

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, Trump’s U.N. ambassador, said Wednesday that she would back the embassy move, while Trump’s Defense Secretary nominee retired Marine Gen. James Mattis said he would “stick to U.S. policy” regarding Jerusalem.

Trump’s next ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, supports Israeli settlements and other changes to U.S. policies in the region.

Friedman said he looked forward to carrying out his duties from “the U.S. embassy in Israel’s eternal capital, Jerusalem,” even though the embassy is in Tel Aviv.  Trump advisers have said that the president-elect will follow through on his call for moving the embassy.

FoxNews.com / The Associated Press contributed to this report

Transcript of President Donald J. Trump’s Inauguration Speech, January 20, 2017:

Chief Justice Roberts, President Carter, President Clinton, President Bush, fellow Americans and people of the world- thank you.

We the citizens of America have now joined a great national effort to rebuild our county and restore  its promise for all our people.

Together we will determine the course of America for many, many years to come.

Together we will face challenges. We will confront hardships. But we will get the job done.

Every four years we gather on these steps to carry out the orderly and peaceful transfer of power.

And we are grateful to President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama for their gracious aid throughout this transition. They have been magnificent, thank you.

Today’s ceremony, however, has very special meaning because today we are not merely transferring power from one administration to another- but transferring it from Washington DC and giving it back to you the people.

For too long a small group in our nation’s capital has reaped the rewards of government while the people have borne the cost.

Washington flourished but the people did not share in its wealth. Politicians prospered but the jobs left and the factories closed.

The establishment protected itself but not the citizens of our country.

Their victories have not been your victories. Their triumphs have not been your triumphs. While they have celebrated there has been little to celebrate for struggling families all across our land.

That all changes starting right here and right now because this moment is your moment. It belongs to you. It belongs to everyone gathered here today and everyone watching all across America today.

This is your day.

This is your celebration.

And this- the United States of America- is your county.

What truly matters is not what party controls our government but that this government is controlled by the people.

Today, January 20 2017 will be remembered as the day the people became the rulers of this nation again.

The forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer. Everyone is listening to you now.

You came by the tens of millions to become part of a historic movement-  the likes of which the world has never seen before.

At the center of this movement is a crucial conviction- that a nation exists to serve its citizens.

Americans want great schools for their children, safe neighborhoods for their families and good jobs for themselves.

These are just and reasonable demands

Mothers and children trapped in poverty in our inner cities, rusted out factories scattered like tombstones across the landscape of our nation.

An education system flushed with cash, but which leaves our young and beautiful students deprived of all knowledge. And the crime and the gangs and the drugs which deprive people of so much unrealised potential.

We are one nation, and their pain is our pain, their dreams are our dreams, we share one nation, one home and one glorious destiny.

Today I take an oath of allegiance to all Americans. For many decades, we’ve enriched foreign industry at the expense of American industry, subsidized the armies of other countries, while allowing the sad depletion of our own military.

We’ve defended other nations’ borders while refusing to defend our own.

And spent trillion and trillions of dollars overseas while America’s infrastructure has fallen into disrepair and decay

We have made other countries rich while the wealth, strength and confidence of our country has dissipated over the horizon.

One by one, shutters have closed on our factories without even a thought about the millions and millions of those who have been left behind.

But that is the past and now we are looking only to the future.

We assembled here today are issuing a new decree to be heard in every city, in every foreign capital, in every hall of power- from this day on a new vision will govern our land- from this day onwards it is only going to be America first- America first!

Every decision on trade, on taxes, on immigration, on foreign affairs will be made to benefit American workers and American families.

Protection will lead to great prosperity and strength. I will fight for you with every bone in my body and I will never ever let you down.

America will start winning again. America will start winning like never before.

We will bring back our jobs, we will bring back our borders, we will bring back our wealth, we will bring back our dreams.

We will bring new roads and high roads and bridges and tunnels and railways all across our wonderful nation.

We will get our people off welfare and back to work- rebuilding our country with American hands and American labor.

We will follow two simple rules- buy American and hire American.

We see good will with the nations of the world but we do so with the understanding that it is the right of all nations to put their nations first.

We will shine for everyone to follow.

We will reinforce old alliances and form new ones, and untie the world against radical Islamic terrorism which we will eradicate from the face of the earth.

At the bed rock of our politics will be an allegiance to the United States

And we will discover new allegiance to each other. There is no room for prejudice.

The bible tells us how good and pleasant it is when god’s people live together in unity.

When America is united, America is totally unstoppable.

There is no fear, we are protected and will always be protected we will be protected by the great men and women of our military and most importantly we will be protected by god.

Finally, we must think big and dream even bigger. As Americans, we know we live as a nation only when it is striving.

We will no longer accept politicians who are always complaining but never doing anything about it

The time for empty talk is over, now arrives the hour of action.

Do not allow anyone to tell you it cannot be done. No challenge can match the heart and fight and spirit of America. We will not fail, our country will thrive and prosper again.

We stand at the birth of a new millennium, ready to unlock the mysteries of space, to free the earth from the miseries of disease, to harvest the energies, industries and technologies of tomorrow.

A new national pride will stir ourselves, lift our sights and heal our divisions. It’s time to remember that old wisdom our soldiers will never forget, that whether we are black or brown or white, we all bleed the same red blood of patriots.

We all enjoy the same glorious freedoms and we all salute the same great American flag and whether a child is born in the urban sprawl of Detroit or the windswept plains of Nebraska, they look at the same night sky, and dream the same dreams, and they are infused with the breath by the same almighty creator

So to all Americans in every city near and far, small and large, from mountain to mountain, from ocean to ocean- hear these words – you will never be ignored again.

Your voice, your hopes and dreams will define your American destiny.

Your courage, goodness and love will forever guide us along the way.

Together we will make America strong again, we will make America wealthy again, we will make America safe again and yes- together we will make America great again.

Thank you.

God bless you.

And God bless America.

It has been widely reported that over 60 Democratic Congressmen are protesting the election of Donald Trump by refusing to attend his inauguration today. This is the largest absence at a presidential inauguration since that of President Abraham Lincoln–also a Republican.

There is a joke I’ve heard going around lately: “The Democrats haven’t been this angry since the Republicans freed their slaves.”

There is a lot of truth in this slight. The history of the Democratic Party, and that of the Republican party have been twisted and skewered by the Democrats and their spokesmen, the Press, in recent years.

In fact, it was the Republicans who fought the Democrats so hard to free the slaves in the Democratic South. It was the Democrats who declared a war on the nation of America, to fight for their right to enslave their fellow human beings and force them to work in their fields under the yoke of human bondage. It was the Democrats who murdered hundreds of emancipated slaves and their Republican advocates after the Civil War. It was Democrats who donned white robes and hoods and terrorized African Americans, and who fought against the post-war Amendments that afforded African Americans the rights of citizenship and of the vote. It was Democrats who instituted the Jim Crow laws, and who institutionalized segregation, then separate-but-equal facilities. It was the Democrats who fought the Republicans as they tried time after time to pass the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act.

It is no accident that Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Republican, as were nearly all of the African Americans at that time, and prior.

Now, with the history buried and distorted, one would think that Democrats were the protectors and advocates of Americans of African descent. It is not true. Presidents Kennedy and Johnson started a campaign of using “ni___ers” (in their words) to centralize power in the Democratic party. They baited and lured them into the new plantation of the Democratic Party, promising them the world, and after $20 trillion in anti-poverty spending, leaving them trapped in ghettos and lives of drug-addled, violent misery. In the words of President Johnson–the blacks were to be bought off with taxpayer dollars, and “I’ll have those ni___ers voting democratic for 200 years.”

In this great nation Democrats claim that they solely advocate for black Americans, as they preside over the abortion of more than 1,800 black babies every day (and thousands of Latino babies). Democrats preside over black children born into fatherless homes. Democrats preside over young black men being destined for death in the streets (at the hands of other young black men). Democrats preside over the imprisonment of a large percentage of young black Americans. Democrats preside over the trap of poverty, unemployment and plantation misery.

In other words, nothing has changed. The Democrats are still presiding over the exploitation of Americans of color, and African Americans are suffering the worse.

So why the outrage at the inauguration of President Trump today? We hear him called a racist, and we hear vague claims that on the campaign trail he spoke ill of America’s black citizens and said he would keep them down, in KKK style. I never heard a word of it. I only heard Donald Trump say he would change the economy so that black Americans would be lifted out of poverty, and out of misery.

Let’s look at what we’ve gotten out of the first black American president and his Democratic Party government. He promised that if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor. He knew he was lying. He promised that if you like your health plan, you can keep your plan. He knew he was lying. He promised that your health care premiums would be reduced by $2,500 per family. He knew he was lying. He weakened America’s economy, running up another $10 trillion in debt (which Americans will now have to repay or go into bankruptcy), spending money that did not help the American people, but lined the pockets of white house cronies. He forced tens of millions more onto food stamps, and onto welfare roles. Tens of millions were forced out of the workforce, and tens of millions more were forced from making a living to making hamburgers at fast food restaurants. No one was devastated by Obama’s economy more than African Americans.

So why are the Democrats staying away from the inauguration of Donald J. Trump, the 45th president of the United States of America? Because a revolution begins today. A revolution that will complete the work that President Lincoln began. A revolution that will remove the fangs and claws of the Democratic Party, a party that sold its soul long ago, and sold the souls of its supporters a thousand times since in its quest for ultimate control of this great nation and its resources.

So stay home during the inauguration today. Let your seats be filled by American citizens. Stay home during congressional sessions, so that you don’t obstruct the prosperity that will soon come to America and all of its citizens, of every race and background. Go home. We don’t need you and your destructive brand of politics.

By James Thompson

Ex-Black Panther member Mason Weaver blasted Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) on Fox News late Monday, saying that the civil rights icon has “presided” over the “destruction” of black Americans since becoming a politician.

Lewis made headlines over the weekend after he said in an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he doesn’t view President-elect Donald Trump as a “legitimate” president, citing allegations that Russian state hackers meddled in last year’s presidential election to undermine the American electoral process and elevate Trump over Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.

Weaver, speaking on “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” praised Lewis for his work in civil rights in the 1960s and ’70s, but explained to host Tucker Carlson that ever since Lewis became a politician, he’s become a “civil rights turncoat” by collaborating with Democrats and implementing Democratic policies, which Weaver says have hurt all black Americans.

“After they beat his behind on that bridge and ran over him and stomped him on the ground, he got up and turned around and joined them,” Weaver declared emphatically. “He joined the oppressors and became a stooge for them!”

Weaver explained that policies Lewis has supported during his tenure in Congress have done nothing but hurt black communities.

“I’m outraged that the demonstration he had earlier in his life as turned into a subjection of his rights and authority as a black leader,” Weaver said.

When asked by Carlson to clarify his comments, Weaver explained that his criticism didn’t just apply to Lewis’ congressional district in Georgia.

“Not just his congressional district, but the congressional communist black caucus has every district they own and control as a ghetto hell-hole — it’s a place that no one wants to go to. They are in control of every inner-city school system, every inner-city police, every inner-city jail,” Weaver said. “They have produced nothing but drugs and misery.”

“He has done nothing,” Weaver added, responding to a question from Carlson about Lewis’ credibility as a black leader.”

“John Lewis, bless his heart — it took courage to do what he did in his early life. What he has done now, he has turned himself to his enemy,” Weaver explained.

The ex-Black Panther went on to compare Lewis’ actions to those of a woman who is beaten by her husband and then “joins the husband.”

“He has joined the enemy, he has joined the oppressor,” Weaver said of Lewis becoming a Democrat.

In light of his actions since becoming a congressman, Weaver suggested that the best course of action Lewis can take to begin bringing reconciliation to the black community is to stand up, admit his wrongs and apologize.

“If you are a real man, John Lewis, if you are a real, real hero, you will stand up tomorrow morning and you look at the people and you apologize,” Weaver said. “The Democratic Party has always been the party of abuse, always been the party of the Klan, the party that waged war to keep slaves — the party that’s always been the destruction of black people.”

“Mr. Lewis, you have presided over the destruction of black America, and you owe us an apology,” Weaver charged.

Responding to Lewis’ comments about Trump, Weaver said that Lewis was more worried about Trump than his own community — making him an “illegitimate congressman.”

By Chris Enloe 

Three of the groups challenging the reform agenda of President-elect Donald Trump and his education secretary nominee Betsy DeVos received more than $2.6 million from teachers unions and their allies, according to federal labor filings.

DeVos, a pioneer in the school choice and charter school movements over the last two decades, has received vocal opposition from Democrats and some of the country’s most powerful unions. The National Education Association, American Federation of Teachers, and AFL-CIO, which serves as an umbrella group for dozens of unions including the AFT, have all called on the Senate to reject the nomination.

They have also pumped millions of dollars into think tanks and activist groups that have supplied Democrats with intellectual ammunition to oppose her.

DeVos, the head of the American Federation for Children, has come under scrutiny from a number of liberal groups and media outlets, along with unions. The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) and Center for American Progress (CAP) have each released reports critical of charter schools since President-elect Donald Trump announced the nomination in November.

EPI released a study on Nov. 30 blaming the rise of charter schools for creating “inefficiencies and redundancies within district boundaries, from the organization and delivery of educational programs to student transportation, increasing the likelihood of budgetary stress on the system as a whole, and the host government in particular.”

The report, written by Rutgers University Prof. Bruce Baker, argued that giving students the ability to enroll in schools outside of their low-performing district school raised transportation costs, increased congestion, and diverted money away from “unified education systems.” The report has also been used to criticize DeVos‘ approach to education.

EPI has received nearly $1.7 million from the NEA, AFT, and AFL-CIO since 2014, according to federal labor filings. The think tank, which describes itself as non-partisan, received more than $680,000 in 2015 alone from the three unions, and AFL-CIO footed the bill for catering costs at a January reception for the group that year. Those expenses were classified as “membership dues” and “support for economic policy research” on the Labor Department forms.

EPI did not include a disclosure in the report or its press release, though it does provide a list of donors on its website. Unions made 27 percent of all contributions between 2010 and 2014.

The Center for American Progress, the liberal think tank founded by former Hillary Clinton campaign manager John Podesta, has also been at the forefront over DeVos’ confirmation battle. Its lobbyists and officials have been quoted in numerous media outlets criticizing Trump’s decision as a “pay-to-play nomination.” It released an analysis on Thursday of her family’s political donations to Republican lawmakers on Thursday, saying that they constituted a “conflict of interest.”

The analysis did not disclose that CAP and its advocacy arm CAP Action Fund has received about $800,000 in contributions and grants from the NEA, AFT, and AFL-CIO since 2014. Labor unions have reported a range of purposes for the expenses to the group, including “member education costs,” contribution,” and “natl partnership grant.” CAP did not respond to request for comment about those donations.

The Partnership for Working Families has also gotten involved in the fight against DeVos through its In the Public Interest project. The group has helped organize activists online to oppose her nomination, directing liberals to networking avenues to contact lawmakers and local media outlets.

“Betsy DeVos, Trump’s pick for Education Secretary, wants to steer public money to charter schools, online learning, and voucher programs. But those of us who believe all kids deserve a quality education are gearing up for a fight,” In the Public Interest said in an online fundraising appeal.

The Partnership for Working Families received more than $135,000 from AFL-CIO in 2015 and 2016, according to the union’s Labor Department filings. The payments were made to “support research/devlpmnt strategy on raising wages” and “support [the] Power for Working Families” campaign.” Neither the Partnership, nor In the Public Interest responded to request for comment.

Trump transition team expected to meet resistance to DeVos’ nomination. Phillip Stutts, who worked for the Department of Education under President George W. Bush before founding Go Big Media, has advised DeVos for the past two months. He had previously worked closely with DeVos to elect school choice supporters in Louisiana. DeVos’ efforts led to the rapid expansion of charter school in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. He said that the force of opposition reflects the impact that she has had in the school reform movement.

“Before Betsy DeVos, nobody challenged teachers unions. … The unions don’t have a monopoly on legislative or political power anymore. That’s her legacy,” he said.

Stutts added that lawmakers and the public would be able to see beyond the union caricature when she appears before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Tuesday.

“She has always asked herself: ‘does this policy put kids first?’ This is somebody who demands results and wants to see more accountability,” he said. “The power of unions will continue to erode when all they care about is their own power, membership dues, and putting adults before children.”

BY: Bill McMorris

A unique opportunity for the Trump Transition Team.

George Soros, the billionaire hedge-fund manager and liberal financier, lost nearly $1 billion after becoming bearish after Donald Trump’s election victory, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The 86-year-old was cautious about the market prior to November’s election became more bearish after Trump’s win. So far, the bet was a mistake, and the stock market has risen about 9 percent over the past two months, the report said.

Soros Fund Management LLC has about 250 traders and manages about $30 billion. The billionaire took a more active role in the company in anticipation of turmoil in China and the European Union, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.

Over the past few years, Soros has become an advocate and donor for liberal causes.  His name reportedly appeared in the Wikileaks emails of Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman John Podesta 60 times.

Soros, who last year, called on a “global system of political decision-making,” came out strongly against Trump during the campaign. He reportedly contributed  $7 million to Priorities USA Action and gave Clinton’s campaign the maximum $2,700 donation. He also contributed $5 million to a super PAC aimed at mobilizing Latinos and other immigrants in hopes to stop the Trump campaign.

Soros has a long history of contributing millions to liberal political causes, and pockets don’t get much deeper than his. He ranked No. 23 in the latest Forbes richest men list.

The Wall Street Journal reported that overall, Soros’ fund is up about 5 percent on the year.

FoxNews.com

Forget fake news; the real issue is fake “hate.”

Has there been one (1) documented hate crime committed by white people against any hue in the Rainbow Coalition since Nov. 8? That’s out of the 9,456,723 hate crimes alleged by America’s leading hate group, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).

The SPLC is to “hate” what Rolling Stone is to rape. It is the biggest peddler of fantasies since Walt Disney.

I’ve read through dozens of SPLC “hate crimes” and they are all lies. The Muslim girls in particular seem to be very spirited liars.

Since the election, there have been vivid stories from across the nation of Trump supporters tearing off Muslim girls’ hijabs — at the University of Michigan (since retracted), Louisiana State University (also retracted), San Diego State University (that too was retracted), the New York City subway (again: retracted), and the University of New Mexico (no witnesses, won’t reveal attacker’s name or report the incident for investigation).

The main take-away from all these stories is: We sure have taken in a lot of Muslims! They seem to have trouble assimilating to American laws about not committing mass murder, but the good news is, when it comes to America’s culture of victimhood, they assimilate like fish to water!

This isn’t mass psychogenic illness, like when cheerleaders at the same high school all develop tics. It’s not even the Salem witch trials. At least the Salem witch-hunters believed in witches. The Muslim hoaxers are lying, and they know they’re lying.

Otherwise, they’d leave the country.

If Muslims want to convince me that they’re living in abject fear in Trump’s America, instead of rushing to the media, somebody’s got to leave.

I’ve heard endless stories about the reign of terror against Muslims, but have yet to hear of one single Muslim — much less a wave of Muslims — moving out of the United States.

It’s not as if they get depressed at the thought of abandoning the old ancestral home, where their great-grandparents are buried. They just got here!

If any Muslim were at risk of so much as a dyspeptic look from white Americans, there’s emigration as well as immigration.

But to the contrary, we can’t keep them out! They get huffy and give indignant speeches at the Democratic National Convention at the suggestion of a mere pause in Muslim immigration.

The greatest fear of Muslims these days is that they won’t be home when the “Today” show calls and will miss the opportunity to regale credulous hosts with stories about their victimization at the hands of white American men (whose great-grandparents areburied here).

The left has gone so insane that the SPLC, the main propagator of fake hate crimes, is the media’s go-to expert on hate. SPLC spokesmen appear on TV and defame all the people they hate: whites, Christians, Trump supporters, cops, frat boys and so on.

The SPLC is like the cult awareness groups taken over by Scientologists. Terrified parents would call for help in rescuing their kids from Scientology and be told, No, Scientology is not a cult.

With the SPLC, the “hate watch” group is the hater. Unlike some toothless nobody claiming to be a member of the ALL-POWERFUL KU KLUX KLAN [Democratic Party Militia], the SPLC’s slanders are instantly amplified by the media megaphone in somber interviews conducted by the most easily fooled people in the universe, American journalists.

Breitbart, Daily Caller and others have done a great job collecting the hoax hate crimes since the election, but we need a central clearinghouse to keep up with the volume.

How about someone found the Northern Poverty Law Center (NPLC), to document actual hate crimes and expose the hoaxes being spit out on an assembly line by the SPLC? Maybe the Koch brothers could get back in Trump’s good graces by funding this much-needed service.

The soon-to-exist NPLC ought to be in the Rolodexes of every media organization, so they can stop reporting fake news and start covering the real hate crimes currently ignored by the press.

The only incidents of actual “hate” since the election have been entirely in one direction: against (mostly white) Trump supporters. This isn’t surprising given the climate of hate being spread by the media.

As illustrated on the website of the NPLC (coming soon!), we aren’t dealing with a Reichstag fire designed to generate hate toward white male Trump supporters. It’s been Reichstag fire after Reichstag fire.

At this point, any claim of “hate” directed at Muslims, blacks, gays or Hispanics by Trump supporters should be treated as if it’s a UFO sighting: presumed false, unless documented with irrefutable evidence.

But until the NPLC is up and running, here are some tips for journalists:

— Real hate crimes do not begin with laughably implausible scenarios. Try to use a modicum of common sense.

— They are almost always captured on videotape or at least are seen by actual witnesses who give statements to the police. Lachrymose accounts posted on Facebook do not constitute evidence.

— They generally result in medical treatment and arrests.

The Trump Justice Department needs to create an office that will serve as a liaison with this new civil rights organization, the Northern Poverty Law Center. Because eradicating hate is Job No. 1!

BY ANN COULTER

President-Elect Donald Trump has received the necessary 270 electoral votes to clinch the presidency. Additional voting is expected to put him over 300 by the end of voting today.

Democrats had launched a campaign to upset the electoral college, bribing and threatening electors in an effort to dissuade them from casting their mandated votes for Mr. Trump.

Mr. Trump’s first 100 days in office are expected to undo much of the damage done by the Democratic Party in the past few decades. Democrats’ stunning losses in the past several elections have all but decimated the Party, relegating it to a regional power.

President-elect Donald Trump won more than enough votes in the Electoral College on Monday to secure his White House victory, as the latest – and perhaps last – stop-Trump movement failed to gain traction in state capitals.

A fervent push by anti-Trump forces to persuade electors to defect had turned the normally mundane civic procedure into high drama.

But the representatives designated to cast ballots in accordance with their states’ Nov. 8 decision mostly adhered to the results of the election. With several states still voting, Trump had 304 votes and Hillary Clinton had 169.

It takes 270 Electoral College votes to win the presidency. Texas put Trump over the top, despite two Republican electors casting protest votes.

Elector antics were few and far between, with most the disruptions occurring on the Democratic side. A Democratic elector in Maine tried to vote for Sen. Bernie Sanders, but switched to Clinton after it was ruled improper. Another who tried to vote for Sanders in Minnesota was replaced; a Colorado elector who tried to back Ohio Gov. John Kasich likewise was replaced. One of the biggest deviations was in Washington state, where three electors voted for Colin Powell and one voted for “Faith Spotted Eagle;” the remaining eight went to Clinton, the state’s winner.

It marked the first time in four decades the state’s electors broke from the popular vote. Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman vowed to work with the state attorney general and charge the four unfaithful electors with a violation of Washington state civil law. Such violations carry a fine up to $1,000.

With Trump’s win now secured, a joint session of Congress is scheduled for Jan. 6 to certify the results.

Trump’s undisputed Electoral College victory could serve to deter any further last-ditch efforts to effectively nullify his November win and prevent his inauguration, though the battle could shift next to his Cabinet picks.

Few expected the “faithless elector” push to imperil Trump’s victory on Monday. Only one Republican elector – Texas’ Chris Suprun – publicly stated he would vote for an alternative candidate. More than three dozen would have had to abandon him to complicate his path to the presidency.

But GOP electors still faced immense pressure — with some even receiving threats — from Trump foes in the run-up to Monday’s Electoral College vote. Those urging disorder in state capitals often cited Clinton’s popular-vote win, by roughly 2.6 million votes, over Trump in November.

Celebrities made public appeals to electors to use the arcane process to upend Trump’s victory, as some Democratic electors tried to persuade their Republican counterparts to defect. Reports that U.S. intelligence officials determined Russia interfered in the election to boost Trump – findings disputed by Trump himself – only fueled efforts to wield the Electoral College vote as a political circuit-breaker.

As electors met, thousands of protesters descended on state capitals Monday in one last push to convince Trump voters to change their minds.

In Arizona, dozens of protesters gathered outside the meeting site, marching around the Capitol mall and carrying signs that said, “Stop Trump.” More than 200 demonstrators gathered at Pennsylvania’s Capitol, chanting, “No treason, no Trump!”

Both states, and dozens of others, cast their electoral votes for Trump anyway.

In Mississippi, Gov. Phil Bryant dismissed attempts to sway Republican electors.

“This idea … that we want to change the electors’ minds who have been dedicated to Donald Trump very early in the process I think is just misguided,” he said.

If nothing else, the furor over Monday’s proceedings has served to re-acquaint Americans with a process that few pay attention to every four years.

The Electoral College was devised at the Constitutional Convention in 1787. It was a compromise between those who wanted popular elections for president and those who wanted no public input.

The Electoral College has 538 members, with the number allocated to each state based on how many representatives it has in the House plus one for each senator. The District of Columbia gets three, despite the fact that the home to Congress has no vote in Congress.

To be elected president, the winner must get at least half plus one — or 270 electoral votes. Most states give all their electoral votes to whichever candidate wins that state’s popular vote. Maine and Nebraska award them by congressional district.

After a joint session of Congress certifies the results on Jan. 6, the next president will be sworn in on Jan. 20.

Trump already is nearly done naming his Cabinet appointees, as he prepares for confirmation hearings and the inauguration ceremonies, in addition to his first 100 days agenda.

Despite his transition process being well underway, Republican electors said they were deluged with emails, phone calls and letters urging them not to support the billionaire businessman in the days and weeks leading up to Monday’s proceedings. Many of the emails were part of coordinated campaigns.

“The letters are actually quite sad,” said Lee Green, a Republican elector from North Carolina. “They honestly believe the propaganda. They believe our nation is being taken over by a dark and malevolent force.”

Wirt A. Yerger Jr., a Republican elector in Mississippi, said, “I have gotten several thousand emails asking me not to vote for Trump. I threw them all away.”

Arizona elector Robert Graham told Fox News on Saturday that the state’s 11 electors received hundreds of thousands of emails telling them not to vote for Trump and that he’s received information that some of the other 10 have been followed or have received a death threat.

“It’s out of hand when you have such … a small group of people that is pushing so hard against millions if not hundreds of millions of people who still appreciate this whole system,” said Graham, chairman of the Arizona Republican Party. “The Electoral College is part of the Constitution.”

PUBLIUS / FoxNews.com /and The Associated Press contributed to this report.