Biden speaks for first time since Harris loss, as Trump and allies eye transition process

President Biden praised Vice President Kamala Harris for running an "inspiring" campaign on Thursday.

Biden made the comments from the White House one day after Harris conceded the presidential race to President-elect Donald Trump.

"You can't love your country only when you win. You can't love your neighbor only when you agree," Biden said. "Let me take this time to say something about out election: It is honest. It is fair, and it is transparent. It can be trusted, win or lose."

Biden went on to thank members of his administration who served with him over the past four years. He urged his administration to "make every day count" for the remaining 74 days of his presidency.

Democratic Rep. Val Hoyle has won re-election to a U.S. House seat representing Oregon, The Associated Press declared Thursday. 

Hoyle, a first-term congresswoman, defeated Republican Monique DeSpain, an Air Force veteran. 

She succeeded longtime Democratic Rep. Peter DeFazio in 2022. 

The race was one of the few competitive ones in deep-blue Oregon, but Democrats held a vast fundraising advantage, and national Republicans were likely to steer money to more marginal races in other parts of the country. 

Hoyle is no stranger to controversy. 

Fox News Digital reported last year that she accepted congressional campaign donations from a handful of cannabis entrepreneurs who were awarded a taxpayer-funded grant she oversaw during her tenure as the commissioner of Oregon's Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) in 2022. 

Fox News Digital's Brandon Gillespie and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Democratic Incumbent Sen. Jacky Rosen has taken the lead over Republican challenger Sam Brown in Nevada's Senate race Thursday.

No victor has been declared in the race, but Brown had previously been ahead in vote counts since Election Day.

An update to total votes posted late Wednesday night showed Rosen with 644,471 votes, or 47.6% of the total.

Brown now trails with 631,772, or 46.7%, of votes, according to the Associated Press.

Independent Sen. Angus King has won re-election to the U.S. Senate in Maine, The Associated Press declared Thursday.

King, who caucuses with the Democrats, had declared victory over a crowded field on Wednesday, saying he was looking forward to returning to the Senate.

“So, I’m feeling very positive about this. I’ve already heard that this morning from a number of my colleagues, including some Republican colleagues, who are looking forward to working together to try and move forward with a positive agenda for the country,” he told supporters.

King's closest challenger was Republican Demi Kouzounas, who sat at roughly 34% support on Wednesday.

Republicans are projected to regain the majority in the Senate, while voters in Arizona, Nevada and Pennsylvania still await race calls in those Senate races.

Vice President Kamala Harris won the statewide race in Maine and its 1st District, winning three electoral votes. President-elect Donald Trump won Maine's 2nd District, picking up one electoral vote.

EXCLUSIVE: Americans could know the balance of power in the House of Representatives as soon as Thursday, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., anticipates.

The top House Republican spoke with Fox News Digital after his party won commanding victories in the White House and Senate on Election Day. The Fox News Decision Desk projected the GOP having a slight edge over Democrats in the House as of Wednesday afternoon.

"I mean, California's the main state still. You know, in a lot of those close races, our incumbents are leading the way – by small margins, but we knew there would be small margins," Scalise told Fox News Digital on Wednesday evening.

"We also have some seats that we have a chance to flip that are leaning our way, too. So, you know, we're watching all of them, and they're coming down the wire. But I think we'll know by [Thursday], hopefully."

"We also have some seats that we have a chance to flip that are leaning our way, too. So, you know, we're watching all of them, and they're coming down the wire. But I think we'll know by [Thursday], hopefully."

"It appears we're going to hold the House and flip the Senate," Scalise said. "You know, it's going to be a rare opportunity within any government to really focus in January on turning this country around."

Scalise already signaled part of what that may look like earlier in the day, when he publicly called for the various prosecutions into Trump to end now that he was re-elected president.

He and other Trump allies had long dismissed the criminal probes as a misuse of the federal government, despite some of them leading to grand jury indictments and criminal convictions.

Asked if a Republican-led Washington would look to reform the justice system to make such perceived attacks harder, Scalise said, "There needs to be reform."

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Elizabeth Elkind

The federal agency responsible for registering Americans for a military draft if the need arises reposted a message suggesting that the U.S. is becoming 1936 Nazi Germany, reports say.  

The post shared by the Selective Service System on its X account Wednesday said, "For all you stupid f---s out there that still believe military service will be voluntary. Remember Germany 1936," according to the New York Post. A CBS News reporter also flagged the repost, writing on X, "What's going on with the @SSS_gov (Selective Service) X account?" 

For more than an hour, the repost remained on the agency’s account, according to the newspaper, before it apparently was taken down. The Selective Service System did not immediately respond Thursday to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.  

The message comes as Democrats and opponents of Donald Trump in recent weeks have tried to cast the president-elect as the second coming of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.  

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Greg Norman.

Fox News senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel discussed Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s potential plan to reform the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and crack down on ultra-processed foods during an appearance on “Fox & Friends.”

“It sounds like [Kennedy] focusing mainly, at least to begin with, on the food part of FDA … with food it’s a mess,” Siegel said. “I’m talking about 75% of the stuff in supermarkets is ultra processed foods.”

Seigel said that ultra processed foods have been “so chemicalized” that it “doesn’t have any connection to the original food it was.”

“It’s why we have an obesity epidemic in this country; 40% of Americans are obese, which leads to all kinds of diseases,” Siegel said.

Kennedy, a former independent presidential candidate, suggested to MSNBC Wednesday that the second Trump administration could eliminate entire departments within the FDA for "corruption."

“In some categories, their entire departments, like the nutrition department in the FDA, they have to go,” Kennedy said. “They’re not doing their job. They’re not protecting our kids. Why do we have Froot Loops in this country that have 18 or 19 ingredients, and you go to Canada, and it’s got two or three?"

Catholic voters were the biggest winners in the 2024 election, the head of a pro-life group said.

"The victory is huge for Catholic voters. Trump handily won the Catholic vote," Shawn Carney, founder of 40 Days For Life, told Fox News Digital. 

"I know the Al Smith Dinner gets a lot of attention for that. That certainly wasn't a wise move for [VP Harris] to not go to that. But I think it's more than just dressing up in a dress or a tuxedo and going to a fundraiser. We Catholics always get the impression from, frankly, the Biden-Harris administration that they hated Catholics, and they hate religion.

"We see what they've tolerated, in some cases, encouraged what's happened to the Jews. We saw the DOJ target Catholics and target pro-lifers. And you just got that sense that they didn't like or respect Catholics."

According to exit polling by Fox News on election night, Catholics across the country swung nine percentage points in Trump’s favor, with Trump winning Catholics by 10 points.

Catholics were evenly split between President Biden and Trump in 2020, with 50% favoring Trump to 49% favoring Biden.

While the Catholic swing exceeded expectations on the national level, the margin of Catholic voters favoring Trump was even larger in some of the most critical swing states.

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Sarah Rumpf-Whitten

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin acknowledged President-elect Trump's victory on Thursday and said the Pentagon will ensure a "calm, orderly" transition toward the new administration.

Austin made the announcement in a letter to all U.S. military members on Thursday.

"Our fellow citizens have elected the next President of the United States. The Department will make a calm, orderly, and professional transition to the incoming Trump administration. As it always has, the U.S. military will stand ready to carry out the policy choices of its next Commander in Chief, and to obey all lawful orders from its civilian chain of command," Austin wrote.

"The U.S. military will continue, in the words of our Constitution, to 'provide for the common Defense.' The U.S. military will also continue to stand apart from the political arena; to stand guard over our republic with principle and professionalism; and to stand together with the valued allies and partners who deepen our security. America's Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Guardians swear an oath to 'support and defend the Constitution of the United States'-and that is precisely what you will continue to do," he added.

Fox News’ Bryan Llenas spoke to Philadelphia Democratic Party Chairman Bob Brady, who blames Vice President Kamala Harris and her campaign for not providing them with enough resources and scolded them for "blaming" Biden for the Pennsylvania loss.

"They had no respect, they had no coordination. I never even had a conversation with the lady," Brady said of Harris campaign chief Jennifer O'Malley Dillon. "They didn't do the right thing as far as giving us the resources we need, and they want to blame us? And now I understand someone in her camp was blaming [President] Joe Biden? Can you imagine? Blaming Joe Biden for her loss? She lost. He didn't lose."

Brady went on to say that his experience with the national Harris campaign is likely similar to the rest of the country.

The Harris campaign lashed out against the comments, saying the organized to knock on roughly 2 million doors in Pennsylvania ahead of Election Day.

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., has requested that his name be withdrawn from consideration for a post within President-elect Trump's upcoming administration.

Cotton had been widely seen as a front-runner for a top cabinet position in the next Trump administration, but a source close to the senator told Fox News on Thursday that he asked that his name be pulled from consideration

Cotton has two boys under the age of 10 and wants to remain close to them and not upend their lives.  He also feels "confident" about securing the No. 3 position in the new GOP Senate majority, the Republican Conference chair when the election is held next week.

The source said Trump understands Cotton's decision and knows "he is with him all the way in the Senate."

Fox News' Lucas Tomlinson contributed to this report

Trump 2024 campaign senior adviser Danielle Alvarez joined "Fox & Friends First" to discuss President-elect Trump's plan for day one during the next administration and her reaction to his historic gains with various voting blocs.

Alvarez highlighted Trump's overperformance in the election across demographics, including women, Latino and Black voters. She also says Trump is already working to flesh out his transition team.

"His day one agenda is going to be unleashing American energy, unleashing American works, securing that border like he did in his first term, and of course as he said, before he enters office he is going to work on brokering peace through strength and restoring our position on the global stage," Alvarez said.

Late night host Jimmy Kimmel fought back tears on Wednesday while discussing President-elect Donald Trump's victory, which he described as a "terrible night."

"Let's be honest, it was a terrible night for women, for children, for the hundreds of thousands of hardworking immigrants who make this country grow," Kimmel said, his voice faltering. "For healthcare, for our climate, for science, for journalism, for justice, for free speech."

"It was a terrible night for poor people, for the middle class, for seniors who rely on social security, for our allies in Ukraine, for NATO, for the truth, and democracy and decency. It was a terrible night for everyone who voted against him, and guess what it was a bad night for everyone who voted for him too, you just don't realize it yet," he said.

Those who endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris tried their best to get their candidate votes, but the vice president came up short.

President-elect Donald Trump has been elected as the 47th president of the United States, becoming the first person to win the election following a loss since former President Grover Cleveland.

However, ESPN pundit Stephen A. Smith was not fond of the tactics of some of Harris' supporters.

"In the end, celebrities, who are worth hundreds of millions, if not billions, who most American citizens feel are incredibly detached from their way of life and their quality of life, were not going to get away and guilt them into doing something different than what their experience says is going on and what they should do about it," Smith said on a recent edition of his "Stephen A. Smith Show."

He then played a clip of Oprah Winfrey saying a victory for Trump could mean they would never vote again.

"This is the kind of stuff that alienates an electorate, alienates a voter," Smith said. "Because the freedom that you tell them you have, you try to confiscate morally by letting them know, you ain’t worth a damn unless you vote the way we say you should vote. Who’s going to go for that in a general election? With an economy rife with inflation, with over 12 million people crossing the border … the value of their dollars dissipating before our very eyes."

Smith then went against a clip of former first lady Michelle Obama saying Black men voting for Trump was a vote against "us."

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Ryan Morik

Fox News' Brooke Singman brought the latest on President-elect Trump's potential Cabinet appointees and how Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. are weighing in on their prospective positions.

Singman says Ben Carson is being weighed to return once again as the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and Betsy DeVos could return as Secretary of Education. Mike Pompeo too could return as Defense Secretary.

New faces include North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who could serve as Secretary of the Interior or Energy Secretary. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., is in the running for Secretary of State, while Robert F. Kennedy Jr., could serve as Secretary of Agriculture or Health and Human Services.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom shared his remarks on X Wednesday following Vice President Kamala Harris' loss in the 2024 presidential election.

Newsom expressed that a second Trump presidency is "not the outcome we wanted," but the "fight for freedom and opportunity endures."

".@KamalaHarris set out to fight to defend our fundamental freedoms and build a country that works for everyone. She stood up for working families, decency, and opportunity," Newsom wrote. "California will seek to work with the incoming president -- but let there be no mistake, we intend to stand with states across our nation to defend our Constitution and uphold the rule of law."

He continued: "Federalism is the cornerstone of our democracy. It’s the United STATES of America."