Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Bill Cassidy, R-La., both announced that they would vote to confirm former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard to serve as Director of National Intelligence.

In a party-line vote on Monday, Murkowski, Cassidy, and the other Republican senators who voted opted to move forward with the confirmation process by supporting cloture, while the members of the Senate Democratic caucus who voted opposed cloture. 

‘I will vote to confirm Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence,’ Murkowski declared in a post on X. 

‘While I continue to have concerns about certain positions she has previously taken, I appreciate her commitment to rein in the outsized scope of the agency, while still enabling the ODNI to continue its essential function in upholding national security,’ the senator continued. 

‘As she brings independent thinking and necessary oversight to her new role, I am counting on her to ensure the safety and civil liberties of American citizens remain rigorously protected.’

Murkowski voted against confirming Pete Hegseth to serve as Defense Secretary last month. 

‘President Trump chose Tulsi Gabbard to be his point person on foreign intelligence,’ Cassidy said in a statement. ‘I will trust President Trump on this decision and vote for her confirmation.’

Gabbard, who served in Congress from early 2013 to early 2021, announced in 2022 that she was leaving the Democratic Party. 

Last year she backed Trump in the 2024 presidential contest and announced she was joining the Republican Party.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday ending the ‘procurement and forced use of paper straws.’

The order directs the federal government to stop purchasing paper straws and ensure they are no longer offered in federal buildings, according to a White House fact sheet.

It also requires the development of a ‘National Strategy’ to end the use of paper straws within 45 days and ‘alleviate the forced use of paper straws nationwide.’

The White House said paper straws are more expensive than plastic straws and use chemicals that may carry risks to human health.

‘The irrational campaign against plastic straws has forced Americans to use nonfunctional paper straws,’ the fact sheet reads, adding: ‘This ends under President Trump.’

The order comes after Trump vowed last week to end bans and restrictions on plastic straws.

‘I will be signing an Executive Order next week ending the ridiculous Biden push for Paper Straws, which don’t work,’ Trump said Friday on Truth Social. ‘BACK TO PLASTIC!’

Several Democrat-run states, including California, Colorado, New York, Maine, Oregon, Vermont, Rhode Island and Washington, have bans or restrictions on single-use plastic straws.

Some of those states currently have laws limiting the use of single-use plastic straws in full-service restaurants unless requested by the customer.

Democrat-led states have also adopted the use of paper straws as a more environment-friendly alternative, which Trump has criticized for years. He said in a 2019 social media post that ‘liberal paper straws don’t work.’

This comes after former President Joe Biden’s administration announced plans in July to phase out single-use plastic in the federal government.

Fox News’ Aubrie Spady contributed to this report.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) provided millions of dollars in funding to extremist groups tied to designated terrorist organizations and their allies, according to a report published by Middle East Forum, a U.S. think tank.

‘The Middle East Forum’s multi-year study of USAID and State Department spending has uncovered $164 million of approved grants to radical organizations, with at least $122 million going to groups aligned with designated terrorists and their supporters,’ the conservative think tank wrote in its report published Feb. 4. 

‘Billions more of federal dollars have been given to leading American aid charities which have consistently failed to vet their terror-tied local partners, and show little interest in improving their practices, to the apparent indifference of the federal government.’

The Middle East Forum’s report focuses specifically on funds from USAID and the State Department that wound up in the hands of radical groups and organizations tied to terrorism.  

The think tank reported that among its top findings, USAID was found to have given more than $900,000 to a ‘Gaza-based terror charity’ called Bayader Association for Environment and Development. The funding began in 2016, and its most recent allocation was made just days before Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. 

Bayader describes itself as a nongovernmental organization (NGO) that works ‘to build a civil society’ on the Gaza Strip. 

‘Founded in 2007, shortly after Hamas’s takeover of the Gaza Strip, Bayader operates in close cooperation with the Hamas regime. Its 2021 annual report notes ‘coordination’ and ‘meetings’ with Hamas’s Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Works, Ministry of Social Affairs and Ministry of Agriculture,’ the report found. 

The funds were secured through other NGOs, such as Catholic Relief Services and medical groups. 

‘​​But USAID coordinates directly with Bayader as well,’ according to the report. ‘USAID officials have praised Bayader’s work on social media, and even visited Bayader’s offices, where one senior USAID official, Jonathan Kamin, received an award from the terror-linked charity.’ 

The report also found that USAID approved a $12.5 million grant in 2024 to the American Near East Refugee Agency, which is also ‘a long-standing partner’ of Bayader. The American Near East Refugee Agency is an NGO that was established in 1968 in an effort to assist refugees following the Arab-Israeli War. 

The report found staffers with the NGO have repeatedly and publicly posted ‘violent ideas, without apparent censure from top charity officials.’ The comments on social media posted by employees include: calling on God to ‘erase the Jews,’ expressing support for the ‘brave prisoners’ in Israeli jails during the Hamas-Israel war, and describing Oct. 7, 2023, as a ‘beautiful morning.’

Sam Westrop, the director of the Middle East Forum’s counter-extremism project, Islamist Watch, posted a highlight thread on X of the report’s findings, describing the examples as ‘horrifying.’

‘USAID won’t even tell us how much they gave the Unlimited Friends Association, a Gaza terror charity which operates with help from Hamas. The head of the charity promises to ‘cleanse’ their land of ‘impure Jews,’’ Westrop posted in the thread of an example. 

‘USAID gave millions to Islamic Relief, whose Gaza branch openly works with senior terrorist officials in Gaza, including Hamas politburo member Ghazi Hamad. who promised that Hamas would repeat Oct 7 attacks ‘time and again until Israel is annihilated,’’ he posted in another example from the report. 

USAID funds totaling $125,000 were found in the hands of the Islamic Relief Agency (ISRA) in 2015, despite the U.S. Treasury designating the group a global terrorist organization in 2004 due to its ties to Osama bin Laden. 

The report continued that USAID ‘undoubtedly knew of ISRA’s terrorism activities. In 2010, the executive director of ISRA’s U.S. branch (IARA-USA) and a board member pleaded guilty to money-laundering, theft of public funds, conspiracy, and several other charges. The plea was listed on USAID’s own website,’ the report found. IARA-USA stands for the Islamic American Relief Agency.

The funds were directed to ISRA via an evangelical charity called World Vision that works to provide clean water to areas of Sudan, according to the report. 

A World Vision official told Fox News Digital when asked about the report that the charity earned approval to work in Sudan ‘to help build a better world for the most vulnerable children and their families’ and that it takes ‘compliance obligations seriously.’

‘As soon as we became aware that a local partner, Islamic Relief Agency, might be on the list of organizations banned from transactions by the United States, we suspended the grant and asked the US Government to confirm its status,’ the official said. ‘We would never knowingly put those we serve or our staff at risk by working with a partner on the list of banned organizations. We exist to help build a better world for children and their families, serving in the name of Jesus Christ. We have no evidence that any of our funds have been used for anything other than urgent humanitarian work.’ 

‘As a Christian humanitarian organization, we do not compromise our beliefs nor commitment to integrity as we work with governments throughout the world,’ the official said. ‘It is not easy to operate in fragile contexts, yet this is where the Lord is calling us.  We remain committed to our vision of bringing life in all its fullness to vulnerable children around the world.’ 

Fox News Digital reached out to Bayader, the American Near East Refugee Agency and Catholic Relief Services but did not receive replies. 

USAID is under fire from the Trump administration as the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and its chair, Elon Musk, investigate the agency’s spending practices and prepare to revamp and potentially shutter the agency. USAID is currently led by interim director Secretary of State Marco Rubio. 

The agency announced on its website on Tuesday, Feb. 4, that nearly all personnel would be placed on leave by Friday, making a few exceptions for those in roles related to ‘mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programs.’ Its overseas missions reportedly also had been told to shut down.

Lawmakers, news outlets and think tanks have dug into past reports related to USAID spending amid the apparent dismantling of the agency, finding countless examples of money channeled to questionable organizations or programs, such as creating a version of ‘Sesame Street’ in Iraq or funding pottery classes in Morocco. 

USAID was established in 1961 under the Kennedy administration, operating as an independent agency that works closely with the State Department to allocate civilian foreign aid. Under Rubio, the agency could be abolished after its reorganization over the coming days, he said in a letter to bipartisan lawmakers on Feb. 3. 

‘In consultation with Congress, USAID may move, reorganize, and integrate certain missions, bureaus, and offices into the Department of State, and the remainder of the Agency may be abolished consistent with applicable law,’ Rubio wrote.

Musk, meanwhile, has posted on X that USAID is a ‘criminal organization’ and that it is ‘time for it to die.’

President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Labor, former Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, R-Ore., has left Republicans in the Senate with some questions over her pro-union stances, but at the same time, she has generated some interest from pro-labor Democrats. 

In particular, the moderate Republican will need to explain to Republicans her support for the Protecting the Right to Organize Act (PRO Act), a controversial piece of legislation that was proposed a few years ago. 

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters that ‘support for the PRO Act is not something that most Republicans have tolerated in the past, but I think she’s attempted to address that, and my hope is that she can further clarify her position on some of those issues when she goes through the hearing process.’

The Protecting the Right to Organize Act was championed by Democrats and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters upon introduction. But others, such as most Republicans and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, opposed it. 

The legislation would effectively kill state-level laws that prohibit employers and unions from requiring workers to pay union dues as a condition of their employment. 

Chavez-DeRemer will have her hearing in front of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) on Wednesday. 

One committee member she’ll have to answer to is Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who has already said he doesn’t plan to support her. 

‘Her support for the Pro Act, which would not only oppose national right to work, but it would preempt state law on right to work. I think it’s not a good thing, and it’d be sort of hard for me since it’s a big issue for me to support her. So I won’t support her,’ the senator previously told reporters. 

This puts Chavez-DeRemer in a difficult position, as she will need to rely on Democrats to help her advance out of the HELP committee favorably if Paul follows through on his commitment to voting against her. 

Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., who is far from the most pro-union Republican in the upper chamber, is full speed ahead in favor of Trump’s pick as Chavez-DeRemer gears up for her hearing and eventual committee vote. 

In a phone interview with Fox News Digital, he explained that he and Teamsters President Sean O’Brien were involved in Trump’s selection of her for the key Cabinet role. Mullin further detailed the significance of union members in Trump’s winning 2024 election coalition. 

He claimed Democrats have ‘come to us and actually said this is actually a really good pick’ because it puts them in a difficult position and is hard to vote against with her support among labor unions. 

The senator didn’t give away any names of Democrats that might see her appeal, however. 

Paul previously predicted he wouldn’t be the only one unwilling to back her in the Republican conference.

‘I think she’ll lose 15 Republicans and she’ll get 25 Democrats. She’s very pro-labor, she might get all the Democrats. Who knows? So, we’ll see,’ he said. 

If his vote leaves her nomination tied at the committee level, it could still be reported and scheduled for a floor vote, but without a favorable recommendation. In this case, she would need to amass 60 votes in the full Senate to move on to confirmation. 

With her appeal among labor groups, Chavez-DeRemer may manage to put together a 60-plus bipartisan coalition to be confirmed. 

While Paul predicted more than a dozen GOP defectors, Mullin said the real number is likely much smaller.

‘I haven’t heard from any other Republicans that are a ‘no.’ Rand is the only one,’ he said. 

‘I don’t think his numbers are accurate, even close,’ the Oklahoma Republican added. 

A representative for Chavez-DeRemer did not provide comment to Fox News Digital.