This Week in Texas: Trump cabinet, bibles in Texas public schools, corruption investigationSocial shopping finally broke through in the US in 2024, driven by TikTok Shop. Companies spent years trying to import social-commerce habits from Asia, with varied success. The US market is still dominated by Amazon, but social apps and influencers are key players. Social platforms have spent years trying to get Americans to buy stuff from videos, posts, and livestreams. That bet seems to finally be paying off. The 2024 holiday sales from social media — driven by TikTok Shop and influencer affiliates, among other factors — show how far social shopping has come in the past five years. TikTok Shop, which had its official wide launch in the US in September 2023, reported $100 million in single-day US sales on Black Friday this year, triple what it drove in 2023. Americans viewed over 30,000 TikTok shopping livestreams that day, with one creator picking up $2 million in sales from a single session. The company's holiday gold rush didn't come easily. TikTok and its owner ByteDance have spent years investing in its e-commerce business, even as competitors like Instagram have pulled back on shopping features. TikTok began testing out social-commerce features in the US as early as 2020 when it let creators add shopping buttons to some videos . It began rolling out its more advanced product, Shop , in the US to a group of merchants and agencies in November 2022 after testing in other markets like the UK. It's since built out its own order fulfillment program, enlisted hundreds of outside partners to train merchants and creators on how to sell in-app, and recently began connecting creators with manufacturers to build their own products. TikTok likely wants to replicate some of the success of its sister app in China, Douyin, which drives hundreds of billions in sales annually, often via influencer livestreams. While TikTok's numbers are comparatively small, the company has made a ton of progress this year, social-commerce executives told Business Insider. Max Benator, the CEO of the social-shopping agency Orca, said he expects to hit just under $100 million in total gross merchandise value, or GMV, in 2024 across the company's clients, a roughly 10X increase from 2023. "We've now been on TikTok Shop since the very beginning, and we've seen successes gradually and consistently increase month over month," Benator told BI. "The numbers are serious." Outlandish, a TikTok Shop agency that recently opened a livestreaming hub in Santa Monica , said its Shop sellers earned $48 million in US sales in November, up from $20 million in October. The company is betting that live shopping will continue to gain traction in the US, as it has in more mature social-commerce markets like China. "It's QVC on steroids," Outlandish's founder and CEO William August told BI. Affiliate marketing from influencers and others drove a fifth of Cyber Monday sales revenue TikTok Shop's holiday performance was impressive for an e-commerce newcomer, but its business remains a small piece of overall holiday sales. Total online Black Friday sales in the US hit $10.8 billion this year, up about 10% from 2023, according to Adobe Analytics . Online sales in the US between November 1 and December 2 reached $131.5 billion, and hit $13.3 billion on Cyber Monday alone. Retailers like Amazon, Walmart, and Target continue to dominate much of online spending, but social-media influencers and other affiliate marketers are playing an increasingly important role in driving purchases on those platforms. About 20% of US e-commerce revenue on Cyber Monday arrived via affiliate or other promotional links, a 7% year-over-year increase from 2023, per Adobe Analytics. Outside TikTok and affiliate marketing, other influencer-focused platforms are also reporting meaningful sales volume this year. Live shopping platform Whatnot said in November that it had surpassed $2 billion in year-to-date livestream sales, for example. TikTok and its partners are proving that US consumers are willing to adjust shopping habits When TikTok and competitors like Instagram and YouTube first began testing e-commerce features in the US, not all consumers were psyched. Social media is for entertainment, not shopping , some said. Amazon and other big retailers have long dominated e-commerce, and changing consumer habits is a challenge. Instagram backpedaled on its shopping product last year, removing its Shop tab in February 2023 and eventually partnering with Amazon for its in-app shopping strategy. But TikTok kept charging forward with social shopping. It enlisted an army of agency partners and livestream coaches to accelerate the adoption of Shop and flooded its feed with videos of creators hawking goods in exchange for a commission. TikTok's owner ByteDance was likely behind the company's determination to make social shopping work as it sought to bring Douyin's success to TikTok . Now that live shopping and social commerce are beginning to take hold in the US, TikTok and ByteDance's push into the category is paying off (though it all could fall apart if TikTok ends up being banned in January due to a divest-or-ban law ). "This is the year that we've seen the real beginning of live shopping in America," said Julian Reis, the CEO of SuperOrdinary , a social-commerce agency that's worked with TikTok and Douyin. "With TikTok, we've had the first real foray into building an ecosystem that ties in entertainment and live shopping together, and a full-service ecosystem that brings in the creators, the affiliates, the products, the brands altogether."
The Texas Longhorns and Georgia Bulldogs are set to square off in the SEC championship game on Saturday, Dec. 7th, and if it's anything like their regular season meeting, it's safe to say this game could be chaotic. Georgia came out on top, beating Texas by a final score of 30-15. Of course, the game was marred by a controversial incident that saw Longhorns fans, upset about a pass interference call, throw debris on the field. The game was paused as a result, and it eventually led to the referees conferring with each other and reversing their initial call. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Thanks for the feedback.South Carolina’s offensive surge in the second half of the season has led to Dowell Loggains’ first head coaching job. Appalachian State announced Saturday that the South Carolina offensive coordinator will be its next coach. The Mountaineers fired Shawn Clark after five seasons earlier in the week. "We are very excited for Dowell Loggains to be the next leader of App State Football and to welcome him, his wife, Beth, and their children, Reese, Aven, Connor and Ryne, to the App Family," athletic director Doug Gillin said in a statement. "He brings experience as a leader and play-caller at the highest levels of professional and college football. He is a great recruiter and believes strongly in building relationships. He is aligned with our core values of academic integrity, competitive excellence, social responsibility and world-class experience. This is a great day for App State." Loggains, 44, has run South Carolina’s offense for the past two seasons after a two-year stint as an offensive assistant at Arkansas. The job with the Razorbacks was his first at the college level. From 2008 through 2020, Loggains was an assistant in the NFL and has served as the offensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans (2012-13), Chicago Bears (2016-17), Miami Dolphins (2018) and New York Jets (2019-20). The Gamecocks finished the regular season at 9-3 and won their final six games of the season. Four of those wins came over ranked teams as QB LaNorris Sellers made a big leap in his redshirt freshman season. Sellers emerged as one of the best quarterbacks in the SEC during that wining streak as he beat teams with both his arm and his legs. Sellers threw for 13 TDs during the win streak and rushed for four more. He had 16 carries for 166 yards and two TDs in South Carolina’s Week 14 win against Clemson and was 21-of-30 passing for 353 yards and five touchdowns in the Gamecocks’ last-minute win over Missouri in Week 12. For the season, the South Carolina offense averaged six yards a play and Sellers completed 65% of his passes. Appalachian State went 5-6 in 2024 after a game was canceled early in the season because of Hurricane Helene. It was the first losing season for the program at the top level of college football since 1981 when App State was 3-7-1 in the Southern Conference. Overall, Clark was 40-24 in his tenure as App State won at least nine games in three of his five seasons.
I'm A Celeb star Declan Donnelly treats daughter, 6, to behind the scenes tour of jungleChloe Cole, a detransitioner and activist, slammed the 'irresponsible doctors' for the 'incredible disservice' they have done to children like her, while speaking to Fox News Digital. In oral aruments, Supreme Court justices discussed the high-profile, first-of-its-kind case involving transgender medical treatment for children. Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, the lawmaker at the center of the suit against the Biden administration, told Fox News Digital that over the next few months, the justices will be "thinking a lot about the case." When asked whether he ever foresaw himself in such a high-profile legal matter, he said, "not remotely." "I do think the fact that there's so much disagreement weighs in favor of our side," Skrmetti said in a phone interview. "This is an area where the court really shouldn't come in and pick a winner. The data is still very underdeveloped." SOTOMAYOR COMPARES TRANS MEDICAL 'TREATMENTS' TO ASPIRIN IN QUESTION ABOUT SIDE EFFECTS DURING ORAL ARGUMENTS Activists hold a rally outside the Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C., as the court hears oral arguments in the transgender treatments case U.S. v. Skrmetti on Dec. 4, 2024. (Fox News Digital) "All the research that both sides point to is unresolved," Skrmetti said. "This is an unsettled area of science, and in situations like that, the best way to resolve it is through the democratic process. Our legislators appropriate people to deal with that uncertainty and make the call for each individual state." The justices appeared divided on Wednesday after oral arguments, and the three appointed by former President Trump could be the key to deciding the socially divisive question. Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett asked tough questions of both sides, and Justice Neil Gorsuch did not speak during the marathon public session. For its part, the Supreme Court is considering whether the Equal Protection Clause, which ensures equal treatment under the law for similarly situated individuals, bars states from prohibiting medical providers from administering puberty blockers and hormones to help minors transition to a different gender. The case is U.S. v. Skrmetti and is challenging Tennessee's state law which bans medical procedures for minors. Outside the court, hundreds of demonstrators rallied both for and against gender transition treatments for children. One of those rally-goers, detransitioner and activist Chloe Cole, told Fox News Digital in an interview that if the justices oppose the ban on trans medical treatments, "it's going to make things a lot more difficult on legislative fronts in terms of protecting our children and our youth." 'THE PENDULUM IS SWINGING': EXPERTS WEIGH IN ON HISTORIC SCOTUS TRANSGENDER CASE AMID ORAL ARGUMENTS Detransitioner and activist Chloe Cole outside the Supreme Court building during oral arguments in the U.S. v. Skrmetti case on Dec. 4, 2024. (Fox News Digital) "If we want to create a precedent for other states, for first this law, to be upheld in courts and for other states to be upheld as well, we have to do this now," Cole said. Cole, who detransitioned at the age of 16, told Fox News Digital that doctors had done an "incredible disservice" to her at a young age by helping her transition in the first place. "I'm never going to even have a chance at nursing my children with what God gave me," Cole said. "An incredible disservice has been done to me by these irresponsible doctors who knew better. They knew better than to do this to a child. They still chose to do it. But they messed with the wrong kid, and I am going to make sure there is never another child in America who is abused in the same way I was ever again." The court's decision could have sweeping implications, potentially shaping future legal battles over transgender issues, such as access to bathrooms and school sports participation. A decision is expected by July 2025. "So if the court puts a thumb on the scale and says that the courts could be second-guessing state governments on these issues, I think you're going to see an inhibited debate, and we've seen this happen before in other contexts where democracy is subverted by judges who step a little too far into the policy arena, and that ultimately hurts the country," Skrmetti said. "It de-legitimates the government," he added. "It makes people feel alienated from the political process. The alternative is it stays open to our democratic system of resolving disagreements, and you'll see a lot of debate, and different states will go in different directions, and over time, we'll have better research, and people will have a chance to debate this extensively, and that's just the better way to come to a resolution on such a hot button issue where the Constitution is silent." The Justices' decision may also influence broader debates about whether sexual orientation and gender identity qualify as protected classes under civil rights laws, akin to protections for race and national origin. SUPREME COURT WEIGHS TRANSGENDER YOUTH TREATMENTS IN LANDMARK CASE A court sketch depicts the United States Supreme Court hearing oral arguments regarding abortion rights on Wednesday, April 24, 2024. (William J Hennessy Jr.) CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP When asked whether Skrmetti believes the incoming Trump administration could persuade the justices one way in the case, he said, "It's ultimately up to the court how they want to handle that." Trump promised during his campaign he would outlaw transgender medical procedures for minors and open the doorway to allowing individuals to sue medical providers for conducting them. "But there is a path there for them to continue this, and I think it's important that we get clarity soon, because there are so many cases involving these issues, and the lower courts have not been consistent and are looking for guidance, and it would do everyone good to have a more clear answer to the state of the law," he said. Fox News Digital's Shannon Bream and Bill Mears contributed to this report. Jamie Joseph is a writer who covers politics. She leads Fox News Digital coverage of the Senate.
Keir Starmer will meet Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman , as part of a controversial trip to the region this week designed to drum up investment for his pledge to overhaul British infrastructure. In his latest overseas trip, the prime minister will head to the Gulf this weekend. He will first travel to the United Arab Emirates for a meeting with its president, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, before travelling on to Saudi Arabia. Starmer will use the trip to push for a free trade deal with a group of six Gulf nations – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Wooing Saudi Arabia will prove controversial due to widely held concerns over its human rights record and activities during its war with Yemen . Prince Mohammed is believed by US intelligence to have ordered the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018. In 2022, Starmer accused Boris Johnson of “going cap in hand from dictator to dictator” ahead of a visit to the kingdom that was pitched as an attempt to become less reliant on Russian energy. However, officials said that the UAE and Saudi Arabia are already big investors in the UK. Trade with Saudi Arabia is worth £17bn, supporting almost 90,000 jobs across the UK. Starmer will also use the trip to push for a ceasefire between Israel and Gaza, the release of hostages and an acceleration of aid. The government is seeking closer ties with the regimes in pursuit of investment needed to deliver the green energy Starmer has promised. Downing Street described them as among the UK’s “most vital modern-day partners” to increase investment and deepen defence and security ties. “Driving long-term growth at home requires us to strengthen partnerships abroad,” Starmer said. “That is why I am travelling to the Gulf this week, to build a network of partners for the UK that is focused on driving high-quality growth, boosting opportunities and delivering for the people at home.” The government is engaged in a concerted pursuit of Gulf state investment. Starmer’s trip comes days after the state visit to Britain by Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. Deals were agreed on a green energy partnership, and defence and security cooperation.
A groom returning from Dubai accompanied by 150 wedding guests was left aghast upon arriving in Punjab’s Moga when he found that his bride was nowhere to be found and the wedding venue didn’t exist. According to the police, 24-year-old Deepak Kumar, who had recently returned to Jalandhar after working in Dubai, had been planning to marry Manpreet Kaur. The two had been communicating on Instagram for three years, though they had never met in person. Deepak stated that he had traveled with his family from Mandiali village in Jalandhar to Moga based on details provided by the bride about the venue. “When we reached Moga, the bride’s family informed us that someone would escort us to the wedding venue. But even after waiting until 5 PM, no one came,” Deepak explained. The family tried to locate the venue, Rose Garden Palace, by asking locals, only to learn that no such place existed in Moga. Deepak, who works as a laborer in Dubai, revealed that he had only seen Kaur’s photos on Instagram. Their wedding was arranged through phone conversations between their families, and he claimed to have transferred Rs 50,000 to Kaur earlier. — PTI_News (@PTI_News) Prem Chand, Deepak’s father, shared that they had already made extensive preparations for the wedding, including hiring taxis, a caterer, and a videographer. Chand added that Kaur, who is from Moga, had previously mentioned she worked in Ferozepur. Assistant Sub-Inspector Harjinder Singh of the Moga police confirmed that a complaint had been filed by Deepak Kumar. The groom’s family reported being unable to reach Kaur after her phone was switched off. Social Media Reactions Netizens React The incident quickly caught the attention of netizens, who responded with humor and criticism. One user quipped, “Finally, Prem Chand became Manik Chand,” while another commented, “Blinded by social media. Don’t they know photos can be misused or belong to someone else? How foolish!” Another remarked, “Sastagram ka pyar,” mocking the groom’s reliance on Instagram for love. One user added a philosophical note, saying, “Ill-gotten wealth and properties often bring misfortune. Such losses are natural.”
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Things are starting to look up for the Seattle Kraken. The Kraken won five of six games on their just-completed homestand to surpass hockey's version of .500 (10-9-1) and move within a point of the Western Conference's two wild-card playoff spots. Seattle will try to carry that momentum into Saturday's game against the host Los Angeles Kings, who have lost three of their past four games. The Kraken dropped four road games in a row -- a span in which they scored just four goals -- before returning home. "We were obviously losing those games, and I think your confidence, momentum and mindset starts to change a little bit," Kraken center Matty Beniers said. "So, I think being able to get home, we just kind of had a couple of days off. We were able to get some really good days of practice and make sure that our mindset and game was good and together. "And then we were able to get that first win ... and once that happens, you build confidence, and you build chemistry from there." The Kraken are coming off a 3-0 victory against visiting Nashville on Wednesday as Joey Daccord made 24 saves for his first shutout of the season. Brandon Montour (one goal, one assist) and Chandler Stephenson (three assists), Seattle's big offseason acquisitions, sparked the offense. Forward Jared McCann, the Kraken's leading scorer with nine goals and 21 points, scored three times during the homestand, including an overtime winner against Vegas. "The way things ended on the road trip, we felt like we'd let some games get away from us," McCann said. "Obviously, it wasn't good but coming home here we kind of turned the page and just tried to focus on the next game. "I mean, it's just more of a mental thing. You've got to get past that mental block. We didn't have our best (on the road), but you've got to just push that aside and worry about the next one. "That's kind of the way we had to look at it and it's worked out for us." The Kings lost 1-0 to visiting Buffalo on Wednesday despite 18 saves by David Rittich. It was the first time this season that Los Angeles was blanked. "There's nights that I'm really frustrated with how we played, and it's hard to be disappointed with the guys (Wednesday)," Kings coach Jim Hiller said. "They tried, it didn't go their way. Live with it and move on." The Kings came close to scoring several times, including a two-on-one rush late in the second period when Trevor Moore tried to pass to Phillip Danault instead of shooting. "Just one too many passes," Hiller said. "We thought Mooresy should have shot it. If the pass gets through and Phil taps it in the back door, we're saying, ‘Wow, what an incredible goal.' So you can't take that decision-making off the players. They have to play hockey and choose what's right in the situation. "On a night like (Wednesday) where it was hard to find a goal, you don't want to pass too many up. Maybe that was one that we passed up." This article first appeared on Field Level Media and was syndicated with permission.People's financial services CEO sells $142,536 in stock
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Saturday announced a $1 billion military aid package for Ukraine as he forcefully argued for US leadership around the world. “The troubles of our times will only grow worse without strong and steady American leadership,” Austin said in his fourth consecutive appearance at the Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi Valley, California. The package, which includes more drones and ammunition for a critical rocket system, brings the total US security assistance to Ukraine to $62 billion since the war started nearly three years ago, a key component of keeping Kyiv in the fight. Russia has suffered more than 700,000 battlefield casualties since the war began, Austin said, and “squandered” more than $200 billion. The US has led a coalition of countries to arm and equip Ukraine’s military since February 2022, and Austin said it would be a mistake to abandon Kyiv. “This administration has made its choice. So has a bipartisan coalition in Congress,” said Austin. “The next administration must make its own choice.” Though the outgoing defense secretary did not mention Donald Trump by name, his arguments for American engagement internationally contrasted sharply with the president-elect’s promise of “America first.” Trump has repeatedly cast doubt on the value of US aid to Ukraine, and Vice President-elect JD Vance has said in the past that Russia is not an existential threat to Europe. Austin’s message on the importance of aid to Ukraine came the same day Trump met Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky in Paris before the reopening of Notre Dame. The two met in the Élysée Palace with French President Emmanuel Macron for just over an hour Saturday. Zelensky described it as a “good and productive trilateral meeting” in a post on social media afterward. “We all want this war to end as soon as possible and in a just way,” he said, adding that “President Trump is, as always, resolute.” But key members of Trump’s incoming administration have questioned the value of foreign aid in general and military aid to Ukraine specifically. Vivek Ramaswamy, the co-chair of Trump’s commission to cut government spending, said he intends to examine whether foreign aid is worth the taxpayer dollars. “How does that actually advance a purpose that serves the US taxpayer in the best interests of the United States of America?” Ramaswamy asked rhetorically on C-SPAN last week. Austin argued that it is precisely this foreign engagement that helps preserve and uphold what he refers to as the rules-based international order. In a look back at his time as defense secretary, Austin highlighted increased US military cooperation with Japan and the Philippines, as well as new agreements with India and Australia. The US has also sent $13.6 billion in aid to Israel as part of nearly 400 cases of foreign military sales since its war against Hamas began just over a year ago, Austin said. “The world built by American leadership can only be maintained by American leadership,” the outgoing secretary said.
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CANTON, Mass. and OTTAWA, ON, Nov. 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ - Food Cycle Science Corporation ("Food Cycle Science" or "FCS") is excited to announce a new partnership with Waste Connections ("WC"), a leading provider of solid waste management services including collection, transfer, recycling, and disposal, and the City of Canton, Texas. This collaboration marks the first FoodCycler x Waste Connections program, setting a new standard for sustainable trash and recycling collection services for municipalities. FCS's FoodCycler® is an award-winning electric food waste recycler that transforms food scraps into a dry, odorless by-product. This innovative technology helps eliminate methane emissions that typically occur when food waste decomposes in landfills. By converting organic waste into a nutrient-rich material, the FoodCycler® not only helps mitigate environmental impact but also supports sustainable waste management practices in households. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Error! There was an error processing your request. Get the latest need-to-know information delivered to your inbox as it happens. Our flagship newsletter. Get our front page stories each morning as well as the latest updates each afternoon during the week + more in-depth weekend editions on Saturdays & Sundays.WASHINGTON D.C., DC — As a former and potentially future president, Donald Trump hailed what would become Project 2025 as a road map for “exactly what our movement will do” with another crack at the White House. As the blueprint for a hard-right turn in America became a liability during the 2024 campaign, Trump pulled an about-face . He denied knowing anything about the “ridiculous and abysmal” plans written in part by his first-term aides and allies. Now, after being elected the 47th president on Nov. 5, Trump is stocking his second administration with key players in the detailed effort he temporarily shunned. Most notably, Trump has tapped Russell Vought for an encore as director of the Office of Management and Budget; Tom Homan, his former immigration chief, as “border czar;” and immigration hardliner Stephen Miller as deputy chief of policy . Those moves have accelerated criticisms from Democrats who warn that Trump's election hands government reins to movement conservatives who spent years envisioning how to concentrate power in the West Wing and impose a starkly rightward shift across the U.S. government and society. Trump and his aides maintain that he won a mandate to overhaul Washington. But they maintain the specifics are his alone. “President Trump never had anything to do with Project 2025,” said Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt in a statement. “All of President Trumps' Cabinet nominees and appointments are whole-heartedly committed to President Trump's agenda, not the agenda of outside groups.” Here is a look at what some of Trump's choices portend for his second presidency. The Office of Management and Budget director, a role Vought held under Trump previously and requires Senate confirmation, prepares a president's proposed budget and is generally responsible for implementing the administration's agenda across agencies. The job is influential but Vought made clear as author of a Project 2025 chapter on presidential authority that he wants the post to wield more direct power. “The Director must view his job as the best, most comprehensive approximation of the President’s mind,” Vought wrote. The OMB, he wrote, “is a President’s air-traffic control system” and should be “involved in all aspects of the White House policy process,” becoming “powerful enough to override implementing agencies’ bureaucracies.” Trump did not go into such details when naming Vought but implicitly endorsed aggressive action. Vought, the president-elect said, “knows exactly how to dismantle the Deep State” — Trump’s catch-all for federal bureaucracy — and would help “restore fiscal sanity.” In June, speaking on former Trump aide Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast, Vought relished the potential tension: “We’re not going to save our country without a little confrontation.” The strategy of further concentrating federal authority in the presidency permeates Project 2025's and Trump's campaign proposals. Vought's vision is especially striking when paired with Trump's proposals to dramatically expand the president's control over federal workers and government purse strings — ideas intertwined with the president-elect tapping mega-billionaire Elon Musk and venture capitalist Vivek Ramaswamy to lead a “Department of Government Efficiency.” Trump in his first term sought to remake the federal civil service by reclassifying tens of thousands of federal civil service workers — who have job protection through changes in administration — as political appointees, making them easier to fire and replace with loyalists. Currently, only about 4,000 of the federal government's roughly 2 million workers are political appointees. President Joe Biden rescinded Trump's changes. Trump can now reinstate them. Meanwhile, Musk's and Ramaswamy's sweeping “efficiency” mandates from Trump could turn on an old, defunct constitutional theory that the president — not Congress — is the real gatekeeper of federal spending. In his “Agenda 47,” Trump endorsed so-called “impoundment,” which holds that when lawmakers pass appropriations bills, they simply set a spending ceiling, but not a floor. The president, the theory holds, can simply decide not to spend money on anything he deems unnecessary. Vought did not venture into impoundment in his Project 2025 chapter. But, he wrote, “The President should use every possible tool to propose and impose fiscal discipline on the federal government. Anything short of that would constitute abject failure.” Trump's choice immediately sparked backlash. “Russ Vought is a far-right ideologue who has tried to break the law to give President Trump unilateral authority he does not possess to override the spending decisions of Congress (and) who has and will again fight to give Trump the ability to summarily fire tens of thousands of civil servants,” said Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, a Democrat and outgoing Senate Appropriations chairwoman. Reps. Jamie Raskin of Maryland and Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico, leading Democrats on the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, said Vought wants to “dismantle the expert federal workforce” to the detriment of Americans who depend on everything from veterans' health care to Social Security benefits. “Pain itself is the agenda,” they said. Trump’s protests about Project 2025 always glossed over overlaps in the two agendas . Both want to reimpose Trump-era immigration limits. Project 2025 includes a litany of detailed proposals for various U.S. immigration statutes, executive branch rules and agreements with other countries — reducing the number of refugees, work visa recipients and asylum seekers, for example. Miller is one of Trump's longest-serving advisers and architect of his immigration ideas, including his promise of the largest deportation force in U.S. history. As deputy policy chief, which is not subject to Senate confirmation, Miller would remain in Trump's West Wing inner circle. “America is for Americans and Americans only,” Miller said at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally on Oct. 27. “America First Legal,” Miller’s organization founded as an ideological counter to the American Civil Liberties Union, was listed as an advisory group to Project 2025 until Miller asked that the name be removed because of negative attention. Homan, a Project 2025 named contributor, was an acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement director during Trump’s first presidency, playing a key role in what became known as Trump's “family separation policy.” Previewing Trump 2.0 earlier this year, Homan said: “No one’s off the table. If you’re here illegally, you better be looking over your shoulder.” John Ratcliffe, Trump's pick to lead the CIA , was previously one of Trump's directors of national intelligence. He is a Project 2025 contributor. The document's chapter on U.S. intelligence was written by Dustin Carmack, Ratcliffe's chief of staff in the first Trump administration. Reflecting Ratcliffe's and Trump's approach, Carmack declared the intelligence establishment too cautious. Ratcliffe, like the chapter attributed to Carmack, is hawkish toward China. Throughout the Project 2025 document, Beijing is framed as a U.S. adversary that cannot be trusted. Brendan Carr, the senior Republican on the Federal Communications Commission, wrote Project 2025's FCC chapter and is now Trump's pick to chair the panel. Carr wrote that the FCC chairman “is empowered with significant authority that is not shared” with other FCC members. He called for the FCC to address “threats to individual liberty posed by corporations that are abusing dominant positions in the market,” specifically “Big Tech and its attempts to drive diverse political viewpoints from the digital town square.” He called for more stringent transparency rules for social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube and “empower consumers to choose their own content filters and fact checkers, if any.” Carr and Ratcliffe would require Senate confirmation for their posts.
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