NationalWatch

FIRST ON FOX: The vice mayor of a Florida town that is home to one of the country’s largest population of Venezuelan migrants is supporting a deal that will allow the city’s law enforcement to cooperate with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE).

“I support this agreement because I believe it is essential to strengthening our Police Department’s ability to carry out their duties effectively and responsibly,” Doral, Florida, Vice Mayor Maureen Porras told Fox News Digital. “By moving forward with this, we are ensuring that the City of Doral remains in full compliance with both state and federal mandates—an important step in maintaining public trust and upholding the rule of law.”

The comments come as Doral, a key Florida hub for Venezuelan immigrants, is set to vote on a potential agreement with ICE on Wednesday that would allow the city’s law enforcement to carry out some immigration-enforcement operations.

FLORIDA’S LARGEST VENEZUELAN STRONGHOLD POISED TO JOIN FORCES WITH ICE: REPORT

Doral Vice Mayor Maureen Porras told Fox News Digital that she will support the city’s potential agreement to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs. (Getty Images)

Members of the City Council will vote Wednesday on whether to ink a 287(g) program deal with ICE, which would allow Doral police officers to assist ICE with detentions, questioning and processing individuals suspected of breaking federal immigration laws.

Doral would become one of the latest local law enforcement agencies to join President Donald Trump’s push to ramp up deportation efforts, with 287(g) agreements with ICE seeing more widespread use across the country since the new president took office in January.

That effort was given a boost by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has encouraged local cooperation with federal immigration authorities through a law that requires the local agencies in charge of jails to be enrolled in 287(g) programs.

However, Doral’s involvement in the program could be seen as a seemingly surprising turn, with the city being home to one of the largest proportions of Venezuelan immigrants in the United States, leading to concerns about the program from many in the local population.

The 287(g) agreements with ICE have become more common across the country. (John Moore/Getty Images)

BLUE STATE SHERIFFS COMBINE FORCES TO FIGHT BACK AGAINST SANCTUARY LAWS

Doral Councilwoman Digna Cabral acknowledged those concerns, telling Fox News Digital that she hopes Doral Police Chief Edwin Lopez will provide further explanation on the details of the program during Wednesday’s proceedings, noting that immigration enforcement is “a sensitive topic” for many in the community.

“I believe it is important to approach this matter with care, clarity, and full transparency,” Cabral told Fox News Digital. “At this stage, I have not taken a final position, and I will await the full presentation and discussion at the Council meeting before making any further statements.”

Porras acknowledged those concerns as well, but argued that the agreement “is not designed to discriminate against anyone” and that she will not “support its use for that purpose.”

Doral, Florida is home to one of the largest populations of Venezuelan immigrants. (D.A. Varela/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

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“As an experienced immigration attorney with many years of helping families in South Florida, I understand the serious consequences of discriminatory practices and remain fully committed to ensuring that our laws are applied fairly and justly,” Porras told Fox News Digital. “I will make sure that our law-abiding residents are not negatively affected. My focus is on promoting public safety, protecting civil rights, and ensuring that everyone in our community feels safe and respected.”

New York Attorney General Letitia James is in the preliminary stages of looking into whether President Donald Trump’s recent reciprocal tariff pause included insider trading violations, Fox News Digital confirmed. 

James, who is a longtime political foe of Trump’s, is only in the preliminary stages of investigating whether Trump or people close to him may have had advance knowledge of a tariff decision that caused stock markets to surge. The attorney general’s office confirmed the preliminary review of the matter to Fox News Digital Wednesday morning.

Trump’s customized, reciprocal tariffs on nations that historically have installed trade barriers on U.S. goods took effect April 9.

Trump, ahead of pausing the reciprocal tariffs, posted to Truth Social, “BE COOL! Everything is going to work out well. The USA will be bigger and better than ever before!” and “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!! DJT.”

He announced a 90-day pause on the reciprocal tariffs later that day in a surprise move that helped push U.S. markets sharply higher. 

China, however, was not part of the tariff pause and was instead hit with a higher 125% tariff after retaliating with its own additional tariffs against the U.S., and the 10% baseline tariff leveled on nations earlier in April was kept in place. 

NY AG LETITIA JAMES SKEWERED FOR ‘DISTASTEFUL’ REMARKS AFTER TRUMP VICTORY: ‘UTTER ARROGANCE’

President Donald Trump and New York Attorney General Letitia James. James’ office is conducting a preliminary review into possible insider trading related to Trump’s April tariff announcement that triggered a historic stock market rally. (Getty Images)

TRUMP VOWS NOBODY GETTING ‘OFF THE HOOK’ FOR ‘UNFAIR’ TRADE BALANCES, SAYS THERE WAS NO TARIFF ‘EXCEPTION’

The DOW went up 7.9%, the S&P 500 rose 9.5% and the Nasdaq jumped 12.2% the same day.

Some lawmakers have raised concerns about possible insider trading. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union” that the Securities and Exchange Commission should investigate.

“It’s entirely appropriate to have an investigation to make sure that Donald Trump, Donald Trump’s family, Donald Trump’s inner circle, didn’t get advance information and trade on that information,” Warren said.

Sens. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., wrote a letter Thursday to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, as well as Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, calling for an investigation into potential insider trading. 

President Donald Trump. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

The White House hit back in comments provided to Fox Digital amid allegations of insider trading that Democrats were “playing partisan games.” 

WH SLAMS DEMS’ ‘PARTISAN GAMES’ AFTER TRUMP-FOE SCHIFF CALLS FOR INSIDER TRADING INVESTIGATION OVER TARIFFS

“It is the responsibility of the President of the United States to reassure the markets and Americans about their economic security in the face of nonstop media fearmongering,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said in comment to Fox Digital Thursday. “Democrats railed against China’s cheating for decades, and now they’re playing partisan games instead of celebrating President Trump’s decisive action yesterday to finally corner China,” 

New York State Attorney General Letitia James, a former city council member in New York and public defender, launched her run for New York attorney general during the 2018 cycle. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

James, a former city council member in New York and public defender, launched her run for New York attorney general during the 2018 cycle, while emphasizing that if she were elected, she would aggressively pursue legal charges against Trump, vowing to expose the “con man” following her win that year. 

James reported in November 2024 that her office took on nearly 100 legal challenges against Trump during his first administration and added after his second presidential win last year that she would continue challenging him in the courts to “defend the rights of New Yorkers and the rule of law.”

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“We did not expect this result, but we are prepared to respond to this result. And my office has been preparing for several months because we’ve been here before,” James said following Trump’s election win in November 2024. “We faced this challenge before, and we used the rule of law to fight back. And we are prepared to fight back once again because, as the attorney general of this great state, it is my job to protect and defend the rights of New Yorkers and the rule of law. And I will not shrink from that responsibility.”

Under the 1921 Martin Act, the New York attorney general has broad authority to investigate possible securities fraud.

The law allows the office to subpoena witnesses, demand documents, and bring civil or criminal cases without proving intent to defraud.

An illegal immigrant who was arrested in January on charges of incest and sexual battery is now in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after being released from a Virginia county jail.

Officers with ICE, the State Department’s Diplomatic Security team, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, and Virginia State Police arrested Marvin Mateo-Alberto last week, a Honduran national who was in the U.S. illegally, according to an ICE release.

The Hoduran national first illegally entered the U.S. in October 2005 near Eagle Pass, Texas, according to the release, where he was given a notice to appear in front of an immigration judge.

ICE USING SOCIAL SECURITY RECORDS TO AID TRUMP PUSH TO DEPORT ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

Marvin Mateo-Alberto was taken into custody by officers from multiple agencies. (ICE)

In April 2006, a Justice Department judge ordered that Mateo-Alberto be removed from the United States.

Despite that, Mateo-Alberto was arrested in January by the Fairfax County Police Department and charged with incest with a 13-to-17-year-old child and aggravated sexual battery: parent with a 13-to-17-year-old child, the release notes, resulting in ICE lodging a detainer against him with the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center.

However, the release notes, the county detention center did not honor the ICE detainer and released Mateo-Alberto 15 days after his arrest.

Fairfax County has “not designated” itself “as a sanctuary county,” according to the county’s website, adding that it “complies to the fullest extent required by federal, state or local law with any law enforcement agency requesting criminal law enforcement assistance.”

However, the website also notes its official policy is that it “does not and will not enforce civil federal immigration laws.”

Marvin Mateo-Alberto was initially arrested by Fairfax County Police in January. (Fairfax County Police)

FLORIDA’S LARGEST VENEZUELAN STRONGHOLD POISED TO JOIN FORCES WITH ICE: REPORT

“The federal courts have determined that the enforcement of civil immigration laws is solely a federal responsibility under the exclusive authority of ICE,” the county website reads.

The Fairfax County Sheriff’s Department did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.

Mateo-Alberto was eventually arrested by ICE on April 10 and remains in the agency’s custody, according to the ICE release.

An ICE detainer against Marvin Mateo-Alberto was not honored by the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center. (ICE)

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“Marvin Mateo-Alberto stands accused of some very appalling and disturbing crimes and represents a threat to the children of our Virginia communities,” ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Washington, D.C., Field Office Director Russell Hott said. 

“We cannot in good conscience allow Mr. Mateo to continue to potentially threaten other children in our neighborhoods. ICE Washington, D.C. will continue to prioritize public safety by arresting and removing criminal alien threats from our streets.”

While American taxpayers are familiar with the annual rigmarole of filing their federal taxes and realizing just how much of their hard-earned money Uncle Sam is taking away, several House Republicans are pushing a proposal to take some things away from the Internal Revenue Service: Guns and ammunition.

The “Why Does the IRS Need Guns Act” would disarm the federal agency, prohibiting the commissioner of internal revenue from using funds to buy, receive or store firearms and ammo, and requiring the transfer of IRS firearms and ammunition to the Administrator of General Services. 

The guns would then be sold or auctioned to licensed dealers and the ammo would be auctioned to the public. 

Proceeds would go to “the general fund of the Treasury for the sole purpose of deficit reduction,” the measure stipulates.

TRUMP SAYS THERE’S A ‘REAL CHANCE’ TARIFFS COULD REPLACE INCOME TAX

Rep. Barry Moore introduced the “Why Does the IRS Need Guns Act.” (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images | Robert Alexander/Getty Images)

The bill states that “there are transferred to the Department of Justice the authorities, functions, personnel, and assets of the Criminal Investigation Division of the Internal Revenue Service, which shall be maintained as a distinct entity within the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice, including the related functions of the Secretary of the Treasury.”

Rep. Barry Moore, R-Ala., introduced the measure, which is backed by three original cosponsors: GOP Reps. Harriet Hageman of Wyoming, Mary Miller of Illinois, and Clay Higgins of Louisiana. 

The IRS says on its website that its “mission is to provide America’s taxpayers top quality service by helping them understand and meet their tax responsibilities and to enforce the law with integrity and fairness to all.”

WHITE HOUSE QUIETLY FLOATS MILLIONAIRE TAX HIKE PROPOSAL IN CONGRESS AS GOP LEADERS SIGNAL OPPOSITION

But Moore claimed that the federal agency has regularly been “weaponized.”

“The IRS has consistently been weaponized against American citizens, targeted religious organizations, journalists, gun owners, and everyday Americans,” Moore asserted, according to a press release. 

“Arming these agents does not make the American public safer. My legislation, the Why Does the IRS Need Guns Act, would disarm these agents, auction off their guns to Federal Firearms License Owners, and sell their ammunition to the public. The only thing IRS agents should be armed with are calculators.”

HAWLEY URGES REPUBLICANS TO CUT TAXES FOR WORKING-CLASS VOTERS WHO ‘PUT TRUMP IN THE WHITE HOUSE’

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In an April 15 post on X Moore noted, “Tax Day is a great reminder that it’s time for the IRS to stop wasting our taxpayer dollars stockpiling guns and ammo.”

Easter Monday could soon be a federal holiday under a new legislative proposal.

Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., and Rep. Riley Moore, R-W. Va., are leading the way on legislation to make the day following Easter Sunday a holiday amid several other countries also recognizing the holiday.

In a thread posted to X, Schmitt cited a poll that 81% of Americans celebrated Easter as of 2023, according to the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics.

“This isn’t a radical idea. It’s a federal recognition of a tradition that is central to Western civilization—a tradition that’s already recognized as a public holiday in nations across (and beyond!) the West, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand and most of Western Europe,” the Republican lawmaker said.

WHITE HOUSE PLANS ‘EXTRAORDINARY’ HOLY WEEK AS TRUMP HONORS EASTER WITH ‘THE OBSERVANCE IT DESERVES’

Senator Eric Schmitt, a Republican from Missouri, during the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee on Tuesday, July 16, 2024. ( Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“Easter is a floating holiday, it can fall from Mar 22 to April 25. The only two-month gap in our federal holiday calendar is April-May. An Easter Monday holiday fills the gap—creating a three-day weekend when workers and families need it most. Pro-worker. Pro-family. Pro-faith,” he added.

“There are plenty of practical arguments for it, too. Easter weekend already generates around $15 billion for our economy. Making it a three-day weekend could boost that by an estimated 10-15%, adding up to $2 billion in economic activity while strengthening American families.”

There are 11 public federal holidays, which means that the federal public sector is closed, along with many private sector businesses. 

AHEAD OF EASTER AND AMID BIRD FLU, IS IT SAFE TO COLOR EGGS?

Children dying Easter eggs at the table at home. (iStock)

The most recently added public holiday is Juneteenth, which is meant to recognize the abolition of slavery in the United States. It was signed into law by former President Joe Biden in 2021.

Christmas Day is the only traditionally religious holiday on the list.

Easter is on Sunday, and it is often considered the highest holiday in the Christian faith as it honors the resurrection of Jesus after the crucifixion on Good Friday. Additionally, it is also widely regarded in the U.S. as a spring celebration with the Easter Bunny and egg hunts.

UK SCHOOL FACES BACKLASH AFTER CANCELING EASTER CELEBRATION FOR ‘INCLUSIVITY’

The congregation follows along to the Lord’s Prayer. Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley celebrates Solemn Mass on Easter Sunday, at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston on March 31. (Photo by Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

“The passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the most important event in the history of the world. ‘Christ broke the prison-bars of death and rose victorious from the underworld,’” Moore tweeted.

Senate bill 1426 was introduced by Schmitt on Thursday, and it’s been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee. 

Texas will likely have its own Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) very soon after lawmakers passed a bill to create an efficiency office within the governor’s office. 

The bill, known as Senate Bill 14 (S.B. 14) and inspired by Elon Musk’s DOGE, would create a new Texas Regulatory Office which aims to streamline state regulations and eliminate unnecessary rules.

An advisory panel would also be established to work with the governor and help Texas state agencies cut red tape, eliminate unnecessary or burdensome rules and make regulations more cost-effective and transparent. The panel would be made up of business owners, researchers, state agencies and the public.

A Texas state flag and White House Senior Advisor Elon Musk walks to the White House after landing in Marine One on the South Lawn. Samuel Corum/Getty Images (Samuel Corum/Getty Images, right.)

DOGE UNCOVERS MASSIVE VA CONTRACT FOR ‘SALARY SURVEY DATA AND ANALYSIS’ — SAYS IT CANCELED IT, SAVING MILLIONS

S.B. 14 has passed both chambers of the Texas Legislature and is heading to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk to be signed into law. Abbott has not publicly stated whether he will sign the bill.

The bill was authored by Weatherford Republican Phil King while Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said previously that it would help save taxpayers money and grow the Texas economy by “cutting red tape.”

S.B. 14 has passed both chambers of the Texas Legislature and is heading to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk to be signed into law. Abbott, pictured, has not publicly stated whether he will sign the bill. (Luiz C. Ribeiro/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

JASON CHAFFETZ: DEMOCRATS HAVE MADE A FATAL ERROR OPPOSING DOGE

“I prioritized SB 14 because President Trump’s creation of the ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ inspired me to find ways Texas can save taxpayers and businesses money by cutting burdensome regulations,” Patrick said, according to Fox 26.

“The Texas Miracle will continue long into the 21st century because our common-sense, conservative approach to regulation will keep Texans prosperous and our economy strong.”

The bill also requires agencies to write rules in plain language, reduce paperwork and fees, and justify new rules with clear cost and benefit analyses. It also gives courts more power to challenge agency interpretations of laws, shifting legal authority away from agencies.

President Donald Trump and Elon Musk sit down for a “Hannity” exclusive interview where they discussed DOGE. (Fox News)

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Additionally, it requires the development of an interactive website where the public can easily search for agency rules and forms as well as regulatory information by topic, industry, or North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code.

The Elon Musk-led DOGE has shaken up federal bureaucracies and uncovered billions of dollars in wasteful spending. Through canceling contracts, workforce reductions and more, DOGE says it has so far saved taxpayers $155 billion. 

Police forcibly escorted at least six people out of a town hall being held by GOP Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on Tuesday night and were forced to deploy a taser against two of the individuals.

Reporters on the ground at the event in Georgia indicated there were at least six protesters escorted from the town hall within minutes of it starting. Three of the individuals were eventually charged by police for their involvement in the disruption, including one for disorderly conduct, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution. 

“Put your hands behind your back!” a police officer can be heard in a video of the incident shared on social media by CBS News reporter Jared Eggleston. “F— off –” the man can be heard yelling as he disappeared off-screen behind a wall, before a loud bang could be heard followed by the sound of a taser.

VIOLENT ATTACKS FROM ANTI-MUSK, ANTI-TRUMP PROTESTERS PLAGUE NATION, COMPEL GOP LAWMAKERS TO TAKE PRECAUTIONS 

A second bang from another taser going off could be heard shortly thereafter.

Image of police deploying their taser against a man following a physical altercation with the subject as police attempted to escort him out of the town hall. (Fox News Digital)

The suspect, who was tasered by police, can be seen brawling with officers before they deployed the stun gun twice.

Different videos from the event show a handful of others being escorted out, with some leaving on their own volition and others having to be literally dragged out by police. 

“Free Garcia,” one protester could be heard saying as they were exiting in a video posted to X, referring to Kilmar Ábrego García, who has been at the center of a deportation controversy after a federal judge said the Trump administration wrongly deported him with a group of Venezuelan gang members. 

“Free Kilmar!” another could be heard screaming repeatedly on video as they were escorted out.

PRO-LIFE JOURNALIST ASSAULTED ON STREET ASSIGNS BLAME TO DEMOCRATIC RHETORIC

At moments, as police escorted the protesters out of the town hall, Green engaged with the disruptors.  

“The protest is outside. Thank you very much,” Greene said. “If you were to sit and listen, you’re welcome to listen. Everyone across the aisle – Democrats, Independents,” she added while someone was being escorted out.  

“I’m glad they got thrown out,” Greene said following the event. “That’s exactly what I wanted to see happen … This isn’t a political rally or a protest. I held a town hall tonight. You know who was out of line? The protesters.” 

The disruption at Greene’s rally follows increased volatility at local GOP town halls. Things have gotten tense enough that the chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee, Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., has told his fellow Republicans to temporarily refrain from holding in-person town hall events. 

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Citing the uptick in “Democrat threats of violence,” GOP Wyoming Rep. Harriet Hageman followed Hudson’s advice and moved all of her in-person town halls online. The move came after an incident in which an attendee of one of her in-person events followed Hageman as she left and initiated a physical confrontation with her staff, eventually requiring police to intervene.

Green was only one of a handful of GOP members that decided to do an in-person event amid the current ongoing legislative recess, according to NBC News.

Vice President JD Vance asserted that he and President Donald Trump will not allow the “illegal migrant invasion” that occurred during President Joe Biden’s White House tenure to be ratified via “fake legal process.”

He suggested that if the people crying “lack of due process” regarding the deportation of illegal aliens do not have a proposed solution that allows the nation to remove at least several million illegal aliens annually, they do not actually want to achieve border security and expel the illegal immigrants.

“When the media and the far left obsess over an MS-13 gang member and demand that he be returned to the United States for a *third* deportation hearing, what they’re really saying is they want the vast majority of illegal aliens to stay here permanently,” Vance wrote in the lengthy Tuesday night post on X.

TWO VENEZUELAN ILLEGAL ALIENS CHARGED WITH KIDNAPPING, TORTURING, ATTEMPTING TO KILL WASHINGTON STATE WOMAN

President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance are seen after a ceremony with the 2025 College Football Playoff National Champions Ohio State Buckeyes on the South Lawn of the White House on Monday, April 14, 2025 (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

“Here’s a useful test: ask the people weeping over the lack of due process what precisely they propose for dealing with Biden’s millions and millions of illegals. And with reasonable resource and administrative judge constraints, does their solution allow us to deport at least a few million people per year?” he noted.

“If the answer is no, they’ve given their game away. They don’t want border security. They don’t want us to deport the people who’ve come into our country illegally. They want to accomplish through fake legal process what they failed to accomplish politically: The ratification of Biden’s illegal migrant invasion. President Trump and I will not stand for [it],” Vance declared.

PAM BONDI CALLS OUT ‘DETACHED FROM REALITY’ DEMS FOR DEMANDING ALLEGED MS-13 GANG MEMBER BE RETURNED TO US

The vice president asserted that American voters elected the Trump administration to fix the illegal immigration issue.

“Consider that Joe Biden allowed approximately 20 million illegal aliens into our country. This placed extraordinary burdens on our country–our schools, hospitals, housing, and other essential services were overwhelmed. On top of that, many of these illegal aliens committed violent crimes, or facilitated fentanyl and sex trafficking. That is the situation we inherited,” he wrote.

BORDER CROSSINGS HIT RECORD LOW IN MARCH THANKS TO ‘VIGILANT’ WORK OF AGENTS: REPORT

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“The American people elected the Trump administration to solve this problem. The President has successfully stopped the inflow of illegal aliens, and now we must deport the people who came here illegally,” he declared.

Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, Capitol Hill and more Fox News politics content.

Here’s what’s happening…

-CDC eyes narrower COVID-19 vaccine guidance ahead of 2025–2026 season

-Top Republican warns families of ‘largest tax hike in history’ next year if Trump budget fails

–Biden to address disability advocates in first major speech since leaving White House

Placed on leave 

A top advisor to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was escorted out of the Pentagon on Tuesday and placed on administrative leave, according to a Defense Department official. 

Reuters first reported Caldwell had been placed on leave for an “unauthorized disclosure” of information amid an investigation into Pentagon leaks. An official confirmed to Fox News Digital that Reuters’ reporting is accurate but declined to comment on an ongoing investigation. 

Caldwell previously worked at restraint-minded think tank Defense Priorities and Concerned Veterans for America, a group formerly led by Hegseth. A foreign policy realist, he has argued that the U.S. should dramatically reduce its footprint in Europe and pull out forces in Iraq and Syria…Read more

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a joint press conference with Panama’s Security Minister Frank Abrego (out of frame) after the signing of a bilateral agreement, in Panama City on April 9, 2025. Hegseth arrived in Panama for the regional security summit and to reinforce the Trump administration’s continued interest over the canal. (FRANCO BRANA/AFP via Getty Images)

White House

‘NEED TO COMPLY’: SCOTUS should hold Trump admin in contempt over deported Salvadoran migrant

DEPORTATION BATTLE: Trump admin defies court over Maryland deportation, ignites legal showdown

‘SUPPORTING SICKNESS’: Trump says Harvard should lose its tax exempt status, be treated as ‘political entity’ amid funding dispute

Cambridge, MA – April 1: Protesters gather outside Harvard University to show their disapproval of actions taken under the Trump administration.  (Brett Phelps/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

CHECKMATE: Trump admin strikes deal for new state-of-the-art border checkpoint in California

ROLLING BACK: Trump directs agencies to follow Supreme Court rulings, as he continues to rein in administrative state

‘HIGHER SECURITY’: Top Trump agency reveals key reason why REAL ID will be enforced

World Stage

DISMISSED: Judge greenlights DOJ’s motion to drop gun case against Salvadoran, accused MS-13 leader

BEST BROS: El Salvador’s Bukele after friendly White House meeting with Trump: ‘I miss you already, President T’

US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Nayib Bukele, El Salvador’s president, during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, April 14, 2025 (Al Drago for The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Capitol Hill

‘BAD MEDICINE’: Schumer calls on Leland Dudek, acting commissioner of SSA, to resign

GREENE DAY: Marjorie Taylor Greene brings town hall to Harris-won Georgia county, shrugs off possible ‘outbursts’

CASH DASH: House Republican campaign arm touts ‘unstoppable momentum’ with record fundraising haul

‘BIG BOOST’: GOP senator reveals why Trump’s ‘complete and total endorsement’ will be crucial for his midterm race

President Trump recently endorsed Ohio GOP Sen. Jon Husted’s campaign (Fox/Getty)

COMEBACK KID: First Mexico-born rep targets indictment-plagued Democrat in House GOP comeback bid

‘DEEP DIVISIONS’: AOC tells rally goers don’t let Republicans ‘trick’ them into identity politics, stoking racial divisions

‘KAMALA’S PLAYBOOK’: Social media erupts after AOC debuts another ‘strange’ accent at rally: ‘Kamala’s playbook’

WAR OF THE WORDS: Left-wing lawmaker calls Trump MAGA’s ‘buffoon of a leader’: ‘Thank me later’

Across America

DEPARTMENT DISMANTLED: Shapiro leads lawsuit against Trump admin for pulling COVID-era school funding

BILLION-DOLLAR BAILOUT: Newsom signs $2.8B bailout for healthcare program overrun by illegal immigrants

BY THE NUMBERS: ICE using Social Security records to aid Trump push to deport illegal immigrants

The Social Security Administration has begun moving some migrants on the terror watch list to an ineligible database. (Getty Images)

VISA CRACKDOWN: ACLU of Indiana sues Trump admin, claims DHS violated rights of foreign students

Get the latest updates on the Trump administration and Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.

It’s too bad there are no cameras allowed in federal courtrooms, because I really would like to see Mark Zuckerberg testify.

He was the leadoff witness in the Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust lawsuit against Meta, and that in itself was news.

The clash is the most sweeping attempt to dismember the world’s biggest social network, and goes to the heart of how competition is defined.

HAWLEY DEMANDS ZUCKERBERG TESTIFY ON ALLEGED TIES BETWEEN META, CHINA

Not since the government broke up AT&T more than four decades ago has a mega-corporation faced the prospect of being torn apart.

The suit was filed in the first Trump term (the president couldn’t stand Facebook at the time), aggressively pursued by Joe Biden, and now has finally come to trial in a Washington courtroom.

Trump once told me Facebook was such a threat to society that he used it as justification for flip-flopping on his effort to ban TikTok. 

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg was the leadoff witness in the Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust lawsuit against his company. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

But since he won a second term, Zuck, like many tech bros, has been cozying up to the new sheriff in town, including a $1-million donation to the president’s inaugural.

There are reports that when the man who runs Facebook recently met with Trump, he asked about the possibility of dropping the lawsuit. Obviously, it didn’t work.

The focus of the trial is Zuckerberg’s decision to buy Instagram and WhatsApp when they were small start-ups.

FACT-CHECKING DIRECTOR WARNS OF ‘CRISIS’ AS META, TRUMP’S DOGE CUTS THREATEN THEIR ‘HONORABLE, PATRIOTIC’ WORK

The FTC’s lead lawyer questioned Zuckerberg about a platform meant to foster ties between family and friends to a concentration on showing users interesting third-party content through its news feed.

“It’s the case that over time, the ‘interest’ part of that has gotten built out more than the ‘friend’ part,” Zuckerberg said. He added that “the ‘friend’ part has gone down quite a bit, but it’s still something we care about.”

Translation: Screw the friends. Very 2010s. We’ve moved on.

Zuckerberg spoke slowly – at least according to reporters who were there – and he was back on the hot seat yesterday. FTC lawyers pressed him on a stack of emails he had sent:  

“We really need to get our act together quickly on this since Instagram’s growing so fast.

“Instagram has become a large and viable competitor to us on mobile photos, which will increasingly be the future of photos.”

WHISTLEBLOWER TELLS SENATE COMMITTEE THAT META UNDERMINED US NATIONAL SECURITY TO COZY UP TO CHINA

“If Instagram continues to kick ass on photos, or if Google buys them, then over the next few years they could easily add pieces of their service that copy what we’re doing now.” Which was a flop called Facebook Camera.

In yet another message, Zuck called Instagram’s growth “really scary,” saying “we might want to consider paying a lot of money for this.” Facebook bought Instagram for $1 billion in 2012, and two years later spent $19 billion on WhatsApp.

In an email to Tom Alison, head of Facebook, Z offered alternatives:

“Option 1. Double down on Friending. One potentially crazy idea is to consider wiping everyone’s graphs and having them start again.”

Alison responded: “I’m not sure Option #1 in your proposal (Double-down on Friending) would be viable given my understanding of how vital the friend use case is to IG.”

Meta bought out Instagram for $1 billion and WhatsApp for $19 billion before they took off. (Meta)

Now we come to the fascinating part.

It’s not breaking news that Mark’s judgment can be flawed. Remember when he insisted that virtual reality would be the next big thing? 

But he argues that Meta has all kinds of rivals in the “entertainment” area, such as X, TikTok and YouTube – and he easily could have added Snap, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and HBO’s Max. It’s all about the battle for eyeballs now. There are only so many hours in the day. Mindshare is everything.

SUBSCRIBE TO HOWIE’S MEDIA BUZZMETER PODCAST, A RIFF ON THE DAY’S HOTTEST STORIES

And with group chats all the rage, Meta doesn’t do well on that kind of interaction, with Instagram as a possible exception.

Now of course it’s in Zuckerberg’s self-interest to testify that he competes with anything that has a screen. But it’s not that far off the mark. Keep in mind that Meta has 4 billion active monthly users.

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I sure wish we could see the embattled CEO making the case that he’s awash in a vast sea of rivals. 

Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum visited New Mexico on Tuesday to announce the U.S. Army will take control of nearly 110,000 acres of federal land along the U.S.-Mexico border, the latest attempt to curb illegal immigration and trafficking.

The 109,651 acres of federal land will be transferred to the Army for three years, subject to valid existing rights, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of the Interior.

The move comes after President Donald Trump last week signed a memorandum, “Military Mission for Sealing the Southern Border of the United States and Repelling Invasions,” directing the secretaries of Defense, Interior, Agriculture and Homeland Security to take control of federal lands “reasonably necessary to enable military activities.”

The switch in jurisdiction will allow the government to protect sensitive natural and cultural resources in the region, while helping the Army support U.S. Border Patrol operations in securing the border and preventing illegal immigration, according to the Department of the Interior.

NAVY DEPLOYS ANOTHER HOUTHI-FIGHTING WARSHIP TO NEW US SOUTHERN BORDER MISSION 

A group of over 100 migrants attempted to enter the U.S. illegally on Thursday, March 21, 2024. (James Breeden for New York Post/Mega)

“Securing our border and protecting our nation’s resources go hand in hand,” Burgum said in the statement. “The American people gave President Trump a mandate to make America safe and strong again.”

Burgum said the change reflects Interior’s commitment to public safety, national security and responsible stewardship of public lands.

Migrants at the southern border in Arizona. (U.S. Border Patrol)

TRUMP ORDERS MILITARY TO TAKE CONTROL OF FEDERAL LAND AT SOUTHERN BORDER

The Army requested the transfer on “an emergency basis,” so they could increase regular patrols by federal personnel.

Trump declared a national emergency earlier this year along the southern border.

The Army will also be able to build infrastructure to prevent illegal immigrants, human traffickers and narcotics from crossing the border.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s agents from the Houlton Sector arrest illegal border crosser in March of 2025.  (U.S. Customs and Border Protection)

The department noted the crisis along the border is not limited to national security and law enforcement concerns, but also “presents an environmental crisis.”

Nearly two dozen federally endangered species live in the region, which was previously managed by the Bureau of Land Management.

The region also contains cultural sites that range from small artifact scatters to large multiroom pueblos, which could be harmed by repeated foot traffic, unregulated vehicle use and the creation of informal trails or camps, according to the statement. 

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High-traffic illegal crossings could lead to soil erosion, damage to fragile desert vegetation and critical wildlife habitat, loss and damage to cultural resources, increased fire risk and pollution from trash and human waste.  

The department acknowledged some of the land transferred to the Army is essential to the livelihoods of local communities and said the Bureau of Land Management will work with the Army to ensure “some” uses will continue to support local grazing and mining.

White House aides are quietly floating a proposal within the House GOP that would raise the tax rate for people making more than $1 million to 40%, two sources familiar with discussions told Fox News Digital, to offset the cost of eliminating tips on overtime pay, tipped wages, and retirees’ Social Security.

The sources stressed the discussions were only preliminary, and the plan is one of many being talked about as congressional Republicans work on advancing President Donald Trump’s agenda via the budget reconciliation process.

Trump and his White House have not yet taken a position on the matter, but the idea is being looked at by his aides and staff on Capitol Hill.

Meanwhile House GOP leaders including Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., have publicly opposed the idea of any tax hikes.

TRUMP OPEN TO SENDING VIOLENT AMERICAN CRIMINALS TO EL SALVADOR PRISONS

Speaker Mike Johnson is working to pass President Trump’s agenda via the budget reconciliation process (Getty Images)

“I’m not a big fan of doing that. I mean, we’re the Republican Party and we’re for tax reduction for everyone,” Johnson said on “Sunday Morning Futures.”

One GOP lawmaker asked about the proposal and granted anonymity to speak candidly said they would be open to supporting it but preferred a higher starting point than $1 million.

They said the reaction was “mixed” among other House Republicans. But not all House GOP lawmakers are privy to the discussions, and it’s not immediately clear how wide the proposal has been circulated.

Nevertheless, it signals that Republicans are deeply divided on how to go about enacting Trump’s tax agenda.

MEET THE TRUMP-PICKED LAWMAKERS GIVING SPEAKER JOHNSON A FULL HOUSE GOP CONFERENCE

Extending Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) and enacting his newer tax proposals is a cornerstone of Republicans’ plans for the budget reconciliation process.

By lowering the Senate’s threshold for passage from 60 votes to 51, it allows the party in power to skirt opposition to pass a sweeping piece of legislation advancing its own priorities – provided the measures deal with tax, spending, or the national debt.

Extending Trump’s tax cuts is expected to cost trillions of dollars alone. But even if Republicans use a budgetary calculation to hide its cost, known as current policy baseline, they will still have to find a path forward for new policies eliminating taxes on tips, overtime pay, and retirees’ Social Security checks.

Hiking taxes on the ultra-wealthy could also serve to put Democrats in a tricky political situation in forcing them to choose between supporting Trump’s policies and opposing an idea they’ve pushed for years.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise is also opposed to raising taxes on the rich (REUTERS/Mike Segar)

The top income tax rate is currently about 37% on $609,351 in earnings for a single person or $731,201 for married couples. 

But raising the rate for millionaires could be one way to pay for Trump’s new tax policies.

House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md., one of the deficit hawks leading the charge to ensure new spending is paired with deep cuts elsewhere, said “That’s one possibility.”

“What I’d like to do is I’d actually like to find spending reductions elsewhere in the budget, but if we can’t get enough spending reductions, we’re going to have to pay for our tax cuts,” Harris told “Mornings with Maria” last week.

“Before the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the highest tax bracket was 39.6%, it was less than $1 million. Ideally, what we could do, again, if we can’t find spending reductions, we say ‘Okay, let’s restore that higher bracket, let’s set it at maybe $2 million income and above,’ to help pay for the rest of the president’s agenda.”

But Johnson’s No. 2, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., again poured cold water on the idea Tuesday.

“I don’t support that initiative,” Scalise told “Mornings with Maria,” though he added, “everything’s on the table.”

House Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris signaled openness to the idea (Getty Images)

“That’s why you hear all kind of ideas being bounced around. And if we take no action, then you’d have over 90% of Americans see a tax increase,” Scalise warned.

Bloomberg News was first to report House Republicans’ 40% tax hike proposal.

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When reached for comment, the White House pointed Fox News Digital to comments by Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt earlier on Tuesday when she said Trump had not made up his mind on another proposal to raise the corporate tax rate.

“I’ve seen this idea proposed. I’ve heard this idea discussed. But I don’t believe the president has made a determination on whether he supports it or not,” Leavitt said.

Fox News Digital also reached out to Johnson’s office for comment.

The Defense Department’s (DOD) deputy chief of staff was placed on administrative leave on Tuesday, following the steps of another Pentagon official earlier in the day.

Darin Selnick, the deputy chief of staff for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, has been removed, a senior U.S. official confirmed to Fox News.

Selnick is under investigation for the same leak probe that saw Hegseth aide Dan Caldwell escorted out of the Pentagon by security. Both Selnick and Caldwell are on administrative leave.

According to the Pentagon’s website, Selnick is a retired Air Force officer who has worked extensively in veterans’ affairs organizations.

“Mr. Selnick leverages his extensive government and non-government experience advocating for veterans to position Service members for productive post-separation lives from the first day they put on a uniform,” the biography states.

GENERAL WHO HELPED TRUMP DECIMATE ISIS TERRORISTS IN FIRST TERM CONFIRMED AS JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN

Pentagon deputy chief of staff Darin Selnick was removed from the Department of Defense headquarters on Tuesday. (Department of Defense | Getty Images)

Both Selnick and Caldwell worked for Concerned Veterans for America in the past, a group formerly led by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Reuters reported that Caldwell was placed on leave for an “unauthorized disclosure,” as part of an investigation into leaked Pentagon documents.

The probe was announced last month, and concerned itself over “recent unauthorized disclosures of national security information.” 

HEGSETH QUIPS ‘99.9%’ OF DEI INITIATIVES ARE GONE FROM THE MILITARY UNDER TRUMP’S WATCH

Pete Hegseth, US defense secretary, during a news conference in Warsaw, Poland. (Andrzej Iwanczuk/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

“The use of polygraphs in the execution of this investigation will be in accordance with applicable law and policy,” DOD Chief of Staff Joe Kasper wrote in a memo at the time. “This investigation will commence immediately and culminate in a report to the Secretary of Defense.”

An official told Politico that the leak concerned Panama Canal plans and Elon Musk’s visit to the Pentagon, among other matters.

Pentagon officials Dan Caldwell, left, and Darin Selnick are being investigated amid the probe. (Concerned Veterans for America | Department of Defense)

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More information about the leak is unknown, and there is currently no evidence to connect Caldwell or Selnick to that leak.

Fox News Digital’s Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.

U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Sean Duffy announced Tuesday that a $150 million federal grant had been finalized to construct a new port of entry facility and road for the San Diego-Baja California border.

As part of the agreement for the grant, Green New Deal requirements from the Biden administration, including a zero-emission vehicle charging provision, will be removed.

The DOT called the requirements a waste of taxpayer funds, taking away from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) mission toward national security.

DOT SAVES TAXPAYERS OVER $60M BY TERMINATING TEXAS HIGH-SPEED RAIL CONTRACT

The Otay Mesa East Port of Entry project was awarded a grant from the Nationally Significant Multimodal Freight and Highway Projects program in September 2022, though the project never moved forward.

The Otay Mesa, Calif., commercial port of entry is one of three ports of entry in the San Diego-Tijuana metropolitan region. (Google Maps)

“Thanks to the prior administration’s lack of focus, this critical project sat in limbo for two years. No more. We moved to finalize this deal so we can help protect our Southern border and crack down on drug trafficking while preventing tax dollars subsidizing pointless Green New Deal priorities,” Duffy said. “This department will continue to clear the previous administration’s unprecedented grants backlog and deliver results.” 

The $150 million investment will give the CBP new state-of-the-art inspection facilities, as well as a commercial vehicle enforcement facility.

DC TRANSIT POLICE OFFICER STABBED AT TRAIN STATION AS SEC SEAN DUFFY ARRIVES TO TALK SAFETY: ‘UNACCEPTABLE’

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy speaks during a news conference. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

The deployment of intelligent transportation technologies to help manage traffic demand through dynamic tolling will also be included, which the DOT said will increase inspection efficiency and bolster cross-border trade.

TRANSPORTATION SEC SEAN DUFFY SLAMS BLUE-STATE GOVERNOR, SAYS CRIMINALS ‘CONTINUE TO TERRORIZE’ CITY RESIDENTS

DOT added that the project will reduce congestion, bring economic benefits and spur job creation across Southern California.

The nearly 3,600 trucks that cross the border at Otay Mesa and Tecate Ports of Entry, which are currently operating at full capacity, will have an alternative crossing once the project is complete.

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The project comes after the Trump administration inherited over 3,200 grants which were promoted by the Biden administration but never followed through on, according to the DOT.

“This unprecedented backlog of unobligated grants delayed critical investments in communities across the country,” the DOT said in a news release. “Under Secretary Duffy’s leadership, the Department is working diligently to accelerate the distribution of these long-overdue funds and address core infrastructure projects.”

President Donald Trump’s high-tech moonshot may hit a Texas-sized speed bump — and it’s coming from his own party.

Trump’s AI initiative, dubbed “Stargate,” aims to build 20 ultra-powerful data centers across the country. Backed by heavyweights like OpenAI, Oracle, SoftBank, and the UAE-funded MGX, the project represents a $500 billion bet on the future with Texas chosen as ground zero for the first 10 centers.

But a new Texas bill, Senate Bill 6, could delay or derail that momentum. 

The legislation adds a six-month regulatory review on top of an existing 6–18-month timeline, while also requiring new fees and mandatory backup generators, doubling approval time and inflating costs.

EXCLUSIVE: WHITE HOUSE ROLLS OUT IMPLEMENTATION OF AI FOR FEDERAL EMPLOYEE RECORDS

\President Donald Trump speaks in the Roosevelt Room of the White House while SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, Oracle co-founder, CTO and Executive Chairman Larry Ellison, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman look on on January 21, 2025 in Washington, DC.  (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

And while the legislation is pitched as a safeguard against another Winter Storm Uri-style blackout, Trump allies warn it could torpedo a generational opportunity.

“This bill would be a serious roadblock to the president’s vision,” said Vance Ginn, president of Ginn Economic Consulting and former chief economist at the White House Office of Management and Budget during Trump’s first term, in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital. 

“It’s a misguided effort that’s rooted in fear: fear of energy scarcity, fear of AI, fear of the future.”

According to Ginn, the bill’s hefty requirements, including a $100,000 grid connection fee and a so-called “kill switch” that would let the Electric Reliability Council of Texas cut power to data centers, could end up pushing these billion-dollar projects out of Texas entirely.

“These companies aren’t just using energy,” Ginn said. “Many of them actually put excess electricity back onto the grid. So instead of hurting Texas, they help stabilize it.”

Stargate has already broken ground in Abilene, but the next 10 data centers are still up in the air. If Texas becomes too costly or complicated, experts warn the back half of the project might never happen — even as rival states like Wyoming and Tennessee court businesses without Texas’s infrastructure.

WHITE HOUSE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY CHIEF WARNS CHINA IS ‘CATCHING UP’ IN AI RACE

“The Texas legislature should be working in lockstep with President Trump to build out AI infrastructure, not throwing up barriers,” Ginn added. “The AI revolution is here. If Texas fumbles this, it will fall behind.”

The bill’s sponsor, Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, insists the legislation won’t hurt Trump’s agenda. “Senate Bill 6 actually ensures President Trump’s Stargate Plan is a success,” Patrick said in a statement. “We are in lockstep with the president on his goal to make America number one, and dominate China on AI, data centers, and cryptocurrency.”

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman (R), accompanied by U.S. President Donald Trump, speaks during a news conference in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on January 21, 2025. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Even with a Trump endorsement for Patrick’s re-election, Trump-aligned economists say the state is playing a dangerous game.

“We’re already seeing signs of this,” Ginn warned. “Microsoft has pulled back on projects. Investors are nervous. And meanwhile, China’s forging ahead.”

A Chinese startup called DeepSeek has made headlines for rolling out cutting-edge AI models in record time, triggering fresh anxiety about America’s standing in the global AI arms race.

Trump announced an investment in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and took questions on a range of topics. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

“This isn’t just about innovation,” Ginn said. “This is national security. If we’re six months behind China, we may never catch up.”

Trump has backed up his AI push with hard policy, including a 10% blanket tariff on all imports and a steep 125% tariff on Chinese goods, announced just last week. But those tariffs could also raise the price of key data center components, from steel to electrical transformers.

Despite the tradeoffs, the Trump administration sees Stargate as a cornerstone of 21st-century American leadership in everything from education to healthcare.

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“Texas should be leading,” Ginn said. “We can’t let fear of the unknown hold us back.”

Former President Joe Biden, while reflecting on his youth and witnessing segregation firsthand, referred to Black students as “colored kids” in his first major address since exiting the Oval Office. 

“We lived in an apartment complex, and she’d [Biden’s mom] drive us only about half a mile to Holy Rosary School in Claymont. But it was so dangerous, she wouldn’t let us walk up,” Biden said Tuesday evening while delivering a speech on the Social Security Administration before a disability advocacy conference in Chicago. 

“There were hardly any Black people in Scranton at the time … and I was only going into fourth grade. And I remember seeing kids going by, at the time called colored kids, on a bus going by,” Biden added in his anecdote to explain the importance of civil rights laws to him and why he got involved in politics. 

The 46th president was reflecting on how his family moved from Scranton, Pennsylvania, to Wilmington, Delaware, when he was in fourth grade and how he witnessed segregated schools in the nation’s second-smallest state. 

BIDEN RETURNS TO PODIUM FOR FIRST TIME TO SLAM TRUMP’S SOCIAL SECURITY PLANS: ‘WRECK IT SO THEY COULD ROB IT’

President Joe Biden speaks during an event in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., July 25, 2023. (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“They never turned right to go to Claymont High School,” Biden said of Black students not attending a White school. “I asked my mom why? Why? In Delaware, they’re not allowed to go to school in public school with White kids.

“And it sparked my sense of outrage as a kid, just like it does 1744768576.” 

The Supreme Court effectively ended segregation in public schools across the country in the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision. 

BIDEN AIDES ‘SCRIPTED’ EVERYTHING, ALLOWED HIS FACULTIES TO ‘ATROPHY,’ NEW BOOK CLAIMS 

The former president joined the Advocates, Counselors and Representatives for the Disabled (ACRD) conference in Chicago Tuesday evening, where he received the “beacon of hope award” for his accomplishments as president and addressed the gathering about the Social Security Administration, including attacking the Trump administration for its policies. 

“Why are these guys taking aim at Social Security now?” Biden asked, referring to the Trump administration. “Well, they’re following that old line from tech startups. The quote is ‘move fast, break things.’ They’re certainly breaking things. They’re shooting first and aiming later.

“The result is a lot of needless pain and sleepless nights.” 

President-elect Donald J. Trump and President Joe Biden attend the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 47th president of the United States inside the Capitol Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., Jan. 20, 2025. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times/Pool via Getty Images)

Biden added that the Trump administration is looking to “wreck” Social Security to “rob it.” 

“My friend, Gov. O’Malley, knows what they’re really up to. He says, and I love his quote, ‘They want to wreck it so they could rob it.’ They want to wreck it so they could rob it. Why do they want to rob it? In order to deliver huge tax cuts to billionaires and big corporations and keep it going. They want to make permanent the 2017 tax cuts, which overwhelmingly benefits the wealthiest Americans and the biggest corporations. That’s going to cost $5 trillion. Where are they going to get $5 trillion to pay for (it) when they continue to run the deficit up?

BIDEN’S TEAM HID THE TRUTH ABOUT HIS HEALTH ALL ALONG: WH PRESS SEC

“What they always do … by running up the national debt, No. 1. Then by taking the money from someplace else. What are the two big pots of money out there in raw numbers? Social Security and Medicaid. …. Republicans, these guys are willing to hurt the middle class and the working class in order to deliver significant, greater wealth to their already very wealthy. Who in the hell do they think they are?” 

The Trump administration has cut about 7,000 Social Security Administration staffers since taking office as part of its mission to cut government fat and bureaucracy and realign agencies with “America First” policies. Democrats have slammed President Donald Trump over the cuts, claiming he will cut Social Security benefits to seniors. 

The White House has repeatedly rejected claims that the Trump administration will cut such benefits, vowing to “always protect” Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits.

The Trump administration’s official Social Security X account responded after the speech that “Biden is lying to Americans,” before providing a detailed list of “facts,” including that Trump has repeatedly pledged to protect benefits and that no field office has been closed since Jan. 20. 

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The ACRD conference was billed as the 46th president’s first public speech since leaving the White House. Biden however, has delivered other public remarks since Jan. 20, Fox Digital found, such as speaking at the National High School Model United Nations in March, but those events received little media coverage. 

New York Attorney General Letitia James has been hit with shocking allegations by the Trump administration, accusing her of mortgage fraud.

In documents obtained by Fox News Channel’s The Ingraham Angle, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) sent a criminal referral to the Department of Justice, accusing James of mortgage fraud.

FHFA Director William Pulte said in a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi that James appears to have falsified records in order to meet certain lending requirements and receive favorable loan terms.

Pulte cited a property in Virginia that James allegedly claimed as her principal residence, and a property in New York that she claimed as a four-unit structure instead of five, which he said could mean she was able to get a different and more favorable loan.

COURT NAMES NEW JUDGE IN TRUMP CIVIL FRAUD CASE BEFORE REASSIGNING PREVIOUS JUDGE HOURS LATER

New York Attorney General Letitia James speaks during a press conference, Sept. 21, 2022, in New York.   (AP Photo/Brittainy Newman, File)

Fox News contributor and George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley told Ingraham the irony of James getting accused of falsifying records is “perfectly crushing.”

“This is a person who prosecuted Trump for everything short of ripping a label off a mattress, and among the charges that were brought in New York, in just the civil but the criminal case, was making false or misleading statements to financial institutions,” Turley said. “As for James, if we apply the Letitia James standard that she created, there’d be little question here. This seems pretty straightforward.”

He explained that the Trump administration is saying this was not her principal residence because, as a New York elected official, she has to say her principal residence is in New York.

‘PLAYING WITH THE COURTS’: TRUMP ADMIN HIT WITH DOZENS OF SUITS AFTER YEARS OF PRESIDENT CONDEMNING ‘LAWFARE’

NEW YORK, NY – FEBRUARY 16: Attorney General Letitia James speaks during a press conference.  (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

James is also accused of stating that her father is her husband in order to file as a married couple, Turley added.

“The Supreme Court just stated earlier in March, in a case called Thompson, that they want to see knowing false statements under sections like 10-14, not just misleading statements,” Turley said. “These are misleading statements: either it’s your principal residence or it’s not. Either you’re married to your father or he’s your father.”

The DOJ and James did not respond to Fox News on the matter.

The issue has been prosecuted in the past, but as Turley said on the Ingraham Angle, the “documents themselves are quite damning.”

‘ANYTHING BUT ORDINARY’: LEGAL EXPERTS SHRED NY V. TRUMP AS ‘ONE OF THE WORST’ CASES IN HISTORY

The Trump administration dismissed more than a dozen judges on Friday. (Donald Trump/Truth Social)

The New York Post reported that the documents show that the property James purchased with her father had both parties listed as “husband and wife” in 1983 and 2000.

“While this was a long time ago, it raises serious concerns about the validity of Ms. James representations on mortgage applications,” Pulte reportedly wrote.

James brought forth a civil fraud suit against President Donald Trump, the Trump Organization and its senior leadership in 2022, frequently sitting in the courtroom throughout the proceedings, and celebrated the prosecution of Trump in the Manhattan criminal trial over the 34 counts of falsifying business records. Trump was ordered to pay a $454 million civil fraud judgment in James’ lawsuit against him, which is currently on appeal. 

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So far in 2025, James has spearheaded at least five legal actions against the Trump administration, including leading a coalition of state attorneys general to sue the federal government to halt DOGE’s access to the Treasury Department’s internal systems, as well as another lawsuit related to the Trump admin slashing grant funding to research institutions and universities. 

Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributed to this report.

Former President Joe Biden took shots at the Trump administration’s Social Security policies in his first major speech since leaving the White House on Tuesday evening. 

“Seriously, people are now genuinely concerned for the first time in history, for the first and only time in history, that Social Security benefits may be delayed or interrupted,” Biden said from the Advocates, Counselors and Representatives for the Disabled (ACRD) conference in Chicago on Tuesday evening. 

“In the 90 years, since Franklin Roosevelt created the Social Security system, people have always gotten their Social Security checks. They’ve gotten them during wartime, during recessions, during the pandemic. No matter what, they got them. But now, for the first time ever, that might change. It would be calamity for millions of families, millions of people,” he added. 

The ACRD conference was billed as the 46th president’s first public speech since leaving the White House. Biden however, has delivered other public remarks since Jan. 20, Fox Digital found, including speaking before the National High School Model United Nations in March, which received little media attention, as well as joining an International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers event this month. 

ACRD is an advocacy organization that works to equip “disability professionals with the tools, technology, and training to lead the industry forward,” according to its website. 

BIDEN AIDES ‘SCRIPTED’ EVERYTHING, ALLOWED HIS FACULTIES TO ‘ATROPHY,’ NEW BOOK CLAIMS 

President Joe Biden speaks in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Friday, Sept. 15, 2023. (Chris Kleponis/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Biden’s keynote address, which ran less than an hour, overwhelmingly focused on his accomplishments with Social Security when he served as president, taking aim at how the Trump administration is allegedly keeping the elderly up at night with worry over their Social Security benefits, as well as cracking a few jokes about his decades in politics.

MOST BIDEN RALLY APPEARANCES ARE SHORTER THAN A SITCOM, HELPING FUEL STAMINA CONCERNS 

President Biden’s had a disastrous debate performance against Trump in 2024.  ((Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) | (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images) | Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images))

CRITICISMS MOUNT THAT BIDEN IS A ‘SHADOW’ OF HIMSELF AFTER DISASTROUS DEBATE: ‘NOT THE SAME MAN’ FROM VP ERA

“Why are these guys taking aim at Social Security now?” Biden asked, referring to the Trump administration. “Well, they’re following that old line from tech startups. The quote is ‘move fast, break things.’ They’re certainly breaking things. They’re shooting first, and aiming later.”

“The result is a lot of needless pain and sleepless nights,” Biden said. 

‘EMBARRASSINGLY WRONG’: LIBERAL MEDIA FIGURES ADMIT BEING IN DENIAL ABOUT BIDEN’S MENTAL DECLINE

The Trump administration has cut about 7,000 Social Security Administration staffers since taking office as part of its mission to cut government fat and bureaucracy, and realign agencies with “America First” policies. Democrats have slammed President Donald Trump over the cuts, claiming he will cut Social Security benefits to seniors. 

The White House has repeatedly rejected claims that the Trump administration will cut such benefits, vowing to “always protect” Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits.  

US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden greet President-elect Donald Trump and Melania Trump as they arrive at the White House in Washington, DC, on January 20, 2025, before departing for the US Capitol where Trump will be sworn in as the 47th US President. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)

Biden continued that the Trump administration is allegedly looking to “wreck” Social Security to “rob it.” 

“My friend Gov. O’Malley knows what they’re really up to. He says, and I love his quote, ‘They want to wreck it so they could rob it.’ They want to wreck it so they could rob it. Why do they want to rob it? In order to deliver huge tax cuts to billionaires and big corporations and keep it going. They want to make permanent the 2017 tax cuts, which overwhelmingly benefits the wealthiest Americans and the biggest corporations. That’s going to cost $5 trillion. Where are they going to get $5 trillion to pay for, when they continue to run the deficit up?”

“What they always do … by running up the national debt, number one. Then by taking the money from someplace else. What are the two big pots of money out there in raw numbers? Social Security and Medicaid. …. Republicans, these guys are willing to hurt the middle class and the working class, in order to deliver significant, greater wealth to their already very wealthy. Who in the hell do they think they are?” he said. 

President Joe Biden salutes while arriving during an event in the Indian Treaty Room of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, Nov. 27, 2023. (Michael Reynolds/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Former Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., and former Democrat Maryland Gov. and Social Security Administrator Martin O’Malley also joined the event. O’Malley presented Biden with ACRD’s “beacon of hope award” for his accomplishments as president, including his leadership during the pandemic and fighting for the “dignity of every person.” 

EX-BIDEN AIDE SAYS FORMER PRESIDENT WAS ‘FATIGUED, BEFUDDLED, AND DISENGAGED’ PRIOR TO JUNE DEBATE: BOOK 

Biden added during that the nation is “divided” under Trump and can’t continue on the same path. 

“We can’t go on like this as a divided nation, as divided as we are. I said, I’ve been doing this a long time, it’s never been this divided. Granted, it’s roughly 30%, but it’s a 30% that has no heart,” he continued. 

The Trump administration’s official Social Security X account hit back after the speech that “Biden is lying to Americans,” before providing a detailed list of “facts,” including that Trump has repeatedly pledged to protect benefits and that no field office has been closed since Jan. 20. 

“SSA is taking commonsense steps to transform how we serve the public – last month, we spent $16.5 million to modernize telephone services nationwide. We’re developing cutting-edge, AI-powered tools to streamline simple tasks,” the thread continued. “SSA Inspector General report released while Joe Biden was President found $72 billion in improper payments from fiscal years 2015 through 2022.”

The event comes as political books investigating the 2024 campaign cycle hit the shelves, including “Uncharted: How Trump Beat Biden, Harris, and the Odds in the Wildest Campaign in History” and “FIGHT: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House.” 

BIDEN’S TEAM HID THE TRUTH ABOUT HIS HEALTH ALL ALONG: WH PRESS SEC

Excerpts from Chris Whipple’s “Unchartered” reported that White House staffers allegedly kept Biden from socializing with others, including close allies and friends, out of fear the 46th president “might say the wrong thing or might feed the mental acuity narrative.” While he also appeared “absolutely exhausted” ahead of his ill-fated debate against Trump in June, according to the book, which opened the floodgates to public concern over Biden’s mental acuity as he tripped over his words and lost his train of thought during the debate. 

President Joe Biden speaks during the annual Tribal Nations Summit at the Department of the Interior in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023. (Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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Biden has been spending his days in both Delaware and the nation’s capital since his Oval Office exit, with the 46th president working on his own book while also meeting with various Democratic Party leaders, NBC News reported in March.

President Donald Trump is seeking to combat soaring prescription drug prices in a new executive order he signed Tuesday. 

The order instructs Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Department of Health and Human Services (DHS) to standardize Medicare payments for prescription drugs — including those used for cancer patients — no matter where a patient receives treatment. This could lower prices for patients by as much as 60%, according to a White House fact sheet.

Likewise, the order also calls to match the Medicare payment for certain prescription drugs to the price that hospitals pay for those drugs — up to 35% lower than what the government pays to acquire those medications, the White House said. 

The order also takes steps to lower insulin prices. Specifically, the order calls for lowering insulin prices for low-income patients or those that are uninsured to as little as three cents, and injectable epinephrine to treat allergic reactions to as low as $15, coupled with a “small administrative fee,” according to a White House fact sheet. 

‘SEED OIL-FREE’ RESTAURANTS AND FOODS GET HEALTHY STAMP OF APPROVAL

The order instructs Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Department of Health and Human Services (DHS) to standardize Medicare payments for prescription drugs.  (iStock/Getty )

Additionally, the order attempts to drive down states’ drug prices by “facilitating importation programs that could save states millions in prescription drug prices,” as well as bolstering programs that assist states secure deals on sickle-cell medications in Medicaid, the fact sheet said. 

The order also requires DHS to seek comment on the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program, which the Biden administration authorized under the Inflation Reduction Act and allows Medicare to directly engage in hashing out prescription prices with drug companies. 

“The guidance shall improve the transparency of the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program, prioritize the selection of prescription drugs with high costs to the Medicare program, and minimize any negative impacts of the maximum fair price on pharmaceutical innovation within the United States,” the order said. 

Drug prices have significantly ramped up in recent years. Between January 2022 and January 2023, prescription drug prices rose more than 15% and reached an average of $590 per drug product, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. Of the 4,200 prescription drugs included on that list, 46% of the price increases exceeded the rate of inflation. 

Previous efforts under the first Trump administration to curb prescription drug prices included installing a cap on Medicaid prescription drug plans for insulin at $35. 

RFK JR DARES GOVERNOR OF AMERICA’S FATTEST STATE TO DO REGULAR PUBLIC WEIGH-INS

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is greeted by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on stage during a campaign event at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona, on Aug. 23, 2024. (Tom Brenner for The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Meanwhile, Trump’s 145% tariffs on Chinese imports to the U.S. could mean that healthcare costs are particularly susceptible to price increases. Market research group Black Book Research found that 84% of experts predict that prices for medical treatments and drugs will rise due to the tariffs, according to a survey released in February. 

Additionally, Trump signaled Monday that tariffs on the pharmaceutical were headed down the pipeline. 

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“We don’t make our own drugs anymore,” Trump told reporters Monday. “The drug companies are in Ireland, and they’re in lots of other places, China.”

Trump signed the executive order Tuesday, along with others that seek to prevent illegal immigrants from accessing Social Security benefits, and another one calling to investigate the impact of imported processed mineral on national security. 

Tuesday’s executive order comes days after the Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services told states Thursday that the federal government would cease assistance to states to fund nonmedical services geared toward things like nutrition for those enrolled in Medicaid. 

Fox News’ Alec Schemmel contributed to this report. 

The White House blasted Ivy League institutions for “egregious illegal behavior” as the Trump administration goes head-to-head with Harvard University to install changes to the academic institution’s governance and admissions process. 

After Harvard refused to comply with a series of requests from the Trump administration to reform various practices on campus, the administration revealed Monday that it would freeze more than $2 billion in federal funding for the institution. 

When asked why federal funding is so available to institutions like Harvard, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said it’s one President Donald Trump has often brought up himself. 

“It’s a question the president has obviously raised in his discussions, in negotiations with not just Harvard, but also Columbia and many other Ivy League institutions,” Leavitt told reporters Tuesday. 

TRUMP ADMIN SLASHES OVER $2.2B IN FUNDING TO HARVARD AFTER SCHOOL DEFIES DEMANDS

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt holds a press briefing at the White House in Washington, April 15, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters)

“We have the antisemitism task force, which the president promised and delivered on,” Leavitt said. “The antisemitism task forces across the government, representatives from various federal agencies who meet on a weekly basis to discuss the question that you just raised. And I think a lot of Americans are wondering why their tax dollars are going to these universities when they are not only indoctrinating our nation’s students, but also allowing such egregious illegal behavior to occur.”

However, Harvard University President Alan M. Garber said in a Monday statement that the Trump administration tacked on additional requests that go beyond addressing antisemitism on campus, and the institution would not comply because the demands were unconstitutional.

Specifically, Garber said the new requests “direct governmental regulation of the ‘intellectual conditions’ at Harvard,” including auditing viewpoints of student, faculty and staff members on campus, and eliminating all diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, offices and initiatives at Harvard. 

“It makes clear that the intention is not to work with us to address antisemitism in a cooperative and constructive manner,” Garber wrote. “We have informed the administration through our legal counsel that we will not accept their proposed agreement.”

The Trump administration’s Department of Justice unveiled the Federal Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism in February, which aims to eradicate bias on campuses that have experienced incidents targeting Jewish students since October 2023. 

HARVARD WON’T COMPLY WITH TRUMP ADMIN’S DEMANDS AMID THREATS OF CUTTING FEDERAL FUNDING

The Trump administration announced it was freezing more than $2 billion in grants and contracts after Harvard University said it would not comply with federal demands regarding antisemitism. (AP Images)

The task force evaluates conduct on the following campuses: Columbia University; George Washington University; Harvard University; Johns Hopkins University; New York University; Northwestern University; the University of California, Los Angeles; the University of California, Berkeley; the University of Minnesota; and the University of Southern California.

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“Harvard’s statement today reinforces the troubling entitlement mindset that is endemic in our nation’s most prestigious universities and colleges – that federal investment does not come with the responsibility to uphold civil rights laws,” the task force said in a statement Monday. “The disruption of learning that has plagued campuses in recent years is unacceptable. The harassment of Jewish students is intolerable.

“It is time for elite universities to take the problem seriously and commit to meaningful change if they wish to continue receiving taxpayer support,” the statement said.