NationalWatch

A controversial memo issued by then-Attorney General Merrick Garland in 2021 aimed at addressing the alleged threat posed to school boards by dissatisfied parents caused an internal revolt at the Justice Department, according to documents obtained by Fox News. 

As parents across the nation took to school board meetings to vent their dissatisfaction with COVID-era learning restrictions as well as how race and gender were being taught in classrooms, the National Association for School Boards appealed to the Justice Department for assistance, claiming that some actions taken by angry parents could be classified as “domestic terrorism.” 

The Justice Department in October 2021 issued a memo to coordinate a response to what the department described as an “increase in harassment, intimidation and threats of violence against school board members, teachers and workers in our nation’s public schools” by parents. 

Newly released emails, however, indicate that high-ranking officials at the DOJ were skeptical of this move, predicting that it could transform into a political headache for the Biden administration.

MAJOR PUBLIC SCHOOL BOARD SIMULATES PARENT ‘TERRORIST’ ATTACK AFTER FATAL ACCIDENT KILLS STUDENT

“I don’t think it’s possible to state how strongly I object to this. It will completely and totally nuke our election threats efforts, and will damage the reputation of the Public Integrity Section into the bargain,” one deputy assistant attorney general wrote on an internal email chain. “It’s like they’ve affirmatively trying to make this thing not work and look political.”

“If they do this, they might as well rename the damn thing the Anti-MAGA Task Force,” they continued. 

“Exactly!” the DOJ’s Public Integrity Section chief responded. “Stupid, stupid, stupid.”

Some at the DOJ also questioned whether or not the agency had the authority to address purported threats to school board members in the way that was being proposed.

ANDREW MCCARTHY: BIDEN-HARRIS JUSTICE DEPARTMENT TANGLES WITH RED STATES ON ELECTION DAY

“We will not do this,” one principal deputy assistant attorney general wrote. “There is no conceivable connection to [public integrity] (indeed, I’m not seeing a federal interest of any kind.). And if they’re going to make the AG’s memo to the field about this and election threats, I’m going to strongly recommend that they not send it.”

The Public Integrity section chief chimed in that the memo could turn the Justice Department and the FBI into the “threat police” and that it contained “no limiting principle at all.”

After sparking a firestorm of criticism from GOP lawmakers, state officials, pundits and parents’ groups, the NSAB formally apologized for its letter to the Biden administration calling for legal scrutiny to apply to disgruntled parents.

 CNN HOST RECALLS HOW COVID CAUSED THE ‘RADICALIZATION’ OF PARENTS

“On behalf of NSBA, we regret and apologize for the letter,” the organization wrote in a memo to its members. “There was no justification for some of the language included in the letter. We should have had a better process in place to allow for consultation on a communication of this significance. We apologize also for the strain and stress this situation has caused you and your organizations.”

Though Garland was pressed to retract his memo or apologize, he instead opted to defend his decision.

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“The obligation of the Justice Department is to protect the American people against violence and threats of violence and that particularly includes public officials,” he said of the memo.

The DOJ and Garland did not respond to requests for comment when reached by Fox News Digital on Friday.

Fox News’ David Spunt and Jake Gibson contributed to this report. 

James Talarico, a candidate for U.S. Senate in Texas, once swapped out the term “woman” with “pregnant individual” in a bill that would have created protections for abortion in the Lone Star State.

The bill would have prevented “the prosecution of a pregnant individual on whom an abortion is performed or induced” and eliminated any Texas law that would have regulated or prohibited an abortion.

It never made it past consideration in committee.

Despite its stalled progress, the 2023 bill runs counter to Talarico’s efforts to paint himself as sufficiently conservative to represent Texas in the U.S. Senate as he wages an uphill campaign to defeat Republican challenger Ken Paxton, the state’s attorney general.

‘GOD IS NON-BINARY’: TEXAS DEM NOMINEE TALARICO’S PAST REMARKS ON ABORTION, RACE AND GENDER DRAW SCRUTINY

“I’ve called out the extremes in both parties,” Talarico said in an interview with CBS last month.

When asked about his position on gender and previous comments that there were as many as six sexes, Talarico clarified his stance.

“I know there are two sexes, men and women. I also know there’s a very small percentage of people who have these chromosomal abnormalities and I believe they deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.”

When asked about the bill, Talarico’s campaign emphasized the abortion-related aspect of the bill, leaving the gender wording unaddressed.

“James agrees with a majority of Texans that women should make decisions about their own bodies. While billionaire-bought politicians like Ken Paxton spread lies to divide Texans, James will continue to stand up against both political parties to fix this broken, corrupt political system and support Texas families,” JT Ennis, a campaign spokesperson, told Fox News Digital.

The bill’s resurfacing coincides with a very similar bill making its way through the New York legislature.

JAMES TALARICO ADMITS PAST COMMENTS ‘MISSED THE MARK’ WHEN CONFRONTED ON CLAIMS LIKE GOD IS ‘NON-BINARY’

That bill would “adjust language in the law to a more inclusive and gender-neutral form.” Among other changes, it swaps out the term “mother” for “gestating parent.”

Having cleared the New York General Assembly and the New York Senate, it is poised to receive Gov. Kathy Hochul’s signature to become law.

Although Talarico’s bill falls short of similarly reframing the state’s entire legal language, his opponents believe the very attempt to pass a bill using the same kind of terminology is emblematic of someone out of step with Texans’ principles.

“James Talarico’s entire career has been dedicated to replacing the Christian and family values of Texans with his transgender-for-all agenda,” RNC spokesperson Zach Kraft said.

BILL REPLACING ‘MOTHER’ AND ‘FATHER’ WITH GENDER-NEUTRAL TERMS PASSES IN NEW YORK, HEADS TO HOCHUL’S DESK

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“He is a threat to Texans’ way of life and a truly insane individual who has been fully broken by the woke mind virus.”

A former Biden White House aide, who has been slammed by conservatives online for years for his aggressive defense of then-President Joe Biden’s mental and physical fitness, has reemerged into the news cycle over the last couple of weeks for speaking out against former First Lady Jill Biden’s comments during her book tour and joining the communications staff for Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz.

Andrew Bates, who currently serves as the managing director of Orchestra’s public relations advisory service where he often uses his X account to fire back against GOP messaging and the Trump administration, promotes himself as a “seasoned communications strategist” with a “reputation for tenacity and an ability to navigate complex challenges with precision,” according to the website of his WolfPack Strategies advisory firm that he launched during the first week of the Trump administration last year.

While Bates was often praised by some of his colleagues as one of the most “loyal” defenders of the Bidens during his administration, Jill Biden recently lashed out at him when pressed on a quote he gave to the New York Post about her book tour.

“We had a duty to win and we didn’t,” Bates said, referring to Biden’s disastrous 2024 debate and him dropping out. “I think about that all the time. But I don’t see why that painful conversation for the party needed to be publicly reopened right now.”

When pressed on the quote, the former first lady told a reporter, “I want to say to Andrew: Call me up, and say it to my face, buddy.” While they appeared to have made up in a phone call shortly afterward, social media erupted with conservatives and Democrats weighing in on the exchange, including Tommy Vietor, a former National Security Council staffer for then-President Barack Obama.

“No one was more loyal to the Biden family and fought harder for them than Andrew Bates. S—ty to see that loyalty was a one-way street,” Vietor wrote in a post, scolding the former first lady.

“The former first lady would still be known as the former second lady without Andrew Bates,” a source told Axios reporter Alex Thompson, referring to the Bidens’ role in the Obama administration.

“Just a whole lot I could say about this, but I will leave it at being so, unbelievably disappointed,” former top Biden White House aide Rob Flaherty said. However, Jill Biden’s former spokesperson Michael LaRosa ripped Bates on X, saying, “He is one of the LEAST sympathetic former Biden staffers, a notorious liar, stonewaller and gaslighter.”

“This is who the Bidens are. Andrew Bates KILLED himself for the Bidens to the point of damaging his own reputation and appearing at times like a Baghdad Bob,” journalist Yashar Ali said, referring to Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf, who was notorious for pushing propaganda and giving false statements to the media.

Conservatives also weighed in, with many taking shots at the former first lady, including Targeted Victory’s chief communications officer Matt Gorman, who said, “The Bidens are pathetic, self-serving, and loyal only unto themselves.”

“Jill Biden vs Andrew Bates is the fight we’ve all been waiting for,” Sen. Bernie Moreno’s, R-Ohio, chief of staff Philip Letsou posted on X. 

Newsbusters news analyst Jorge Bonilla said, “Not the first loyal comms person the Bidens throw under the bus.”

BIDEN CRASHES JILL’S BOOK TOUR WITH AWKWARD ‘LOVE’ QUESTION THAT LEAVES VIEWERS CRINGING

Bates’ reemergence isn’t just limited to the viral spat that took off on social media.

News that Bates had joined Gallego’s team as a communications advisor broke earlier this week in an Axios report following revelations earlier this year that Gallego, who would later distance himself from disgraced gubernatorial candidate Eric Swalwell and denied knowledge of his sexual misconduct, had a close personal friendship with him for over a decade.

Swalwell abandoned his campaign — and ultimately resigned his seat in mid-April — when testimony from several women surfaced chronicling instances of sexual misconduct and alleged abuse. 

Gallego’s communications director, Jacques Petit, told Fox News Digital that the Arizona senator hired Bates because Gallego has been planning “to help Democrats take the majority in 2026 and is weighing all options for his political future” and that he “brought on Andrew to help navigate those processes.”

However, a number of onlookers online haven’t seen it that way. The hire, which occurred in late April, quickly drew accusations that Bates had been brought on to mask more political liabilities ahead of Gallego’s potential presidential campaign — just as he had helped navigate Biden’s cognitive decline and helped push the narrative that the videos of Biden walking around confused were “cheapfakes.”

Bates, who became a punching bag for many Trump campaign operatives and would often spar with them on social media, went viral a couple of weeks after the disastrous June 2024 debate performance that many believe was the beginning of the end of Biden’s presidential campaign. The X post, which amassed over 5 million views, was widely mocked and has resurfaced several times.

“To answer the question on everyone’s minds: No, Joe Biden does not have a doctorate in foreign affairs,” Bates said. “He’s just that f—ing good.”

The X post came during a critical press conference two weeks after the disastrous debate performance. Less than two weeks later, Biden announced he was dropping out of the race.

The campaign account for Kari Lake, a former challenger for Gallego’s Senate seat, ripped Bates and Gallego in a post.

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“You don’t hire a political fixer and Biden regime hatchet man like Andrew Bates unless the walls are closing in and the skeletons are about to tumble out of the closet. Rotten Ruben Gallego is VERY worried,” the account wrote.

“He’s the lawyer you hire when everyone already knows you’re guilty,” Jim Geraghty, a political commentator, wrote in a post to social media. 

“Who is the most expensive, least talented person we can find to make sure I don’t get Swallwell’d? Is Ian Sams available? Okay, how about Andrew Bates?,” Brent Scher, the editor-in-chief of the Daily Wire wrote in a post to X, referring to another former White House political operative.

As part of the Pride Month celebration on Tuesday evening, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani touted the work his administration has done to expand services for LGBTQ+ communities, calling New York City a “haven” for people with alternative gender identities.

In particular, Mamdani doubled down on promises of $15 million in funding for trans communities.

“The threats will continue and so will our relentless protection of trans people across this city,” Mamdani said, referring to challenges he said LGBTQ+ communities face.

“As a first step, my administration has made a $15 million investment in gender-affirming care over the next two years, and we will continue to use every tool at our disposal to make sure every trans and gender non-conforming New Yorker can live with the dignity, safety and freedom they deserve.”

MAMDAMI MARKS PRIDE MONTH, SAYS HONORING ‘QUEER AND TRANSGENDER’ CONTRIBUTIONS WOULD TAKE MORE THAN 30 DAYS

Mamdani’s speech builds on similar efforts in other cities and looks to follow through on campaign promises Mamdani made on the road to his mayoral victory.

It’s unclear where, exactly, the $15 million request is being allocated from or how it will be disbursed as New York City Council members continue consideration of the 2027 budget, but taxpayer dollars will be on the hook for the investment.

Progressive-led subsidized transgender initiatives have also advanced in San Francisco.

Like New York, San Francisco established an Office of Transgender Initiatives and, through its Department of Public Health, has funded guidance for hormone therapy, surgery and mental health case management.

MASSACHUSETTS TOWN VOTES TO BECOME A TRANSGENDER ‘SANCTUARY CITY’ AFTER WILD CITY COUNCIL MEETING

If implemented, Mamdani’s initiative would go further, directly funding procedures.

Despite pushing the envelope on city-led programs for trans services, the New York funding falls short of the vision Mamdani painted while on the campaign trail.

“The Mamdani administration will budget $65 million in funding to explicitly support and expand access to Gender Affirming Care (GAC) in NYC,” Mamdani’s campaign website read.

That plan detailed that up to $57 million would go to public hospitals, community clinics, health centers and nonprofits that could perform procedures.

Although Mamdani’s plan for the $15 million remains hazy, he said his support of the LGBTQ community was proven — and would only grow.

GRAMMY-WINNING MUSICIAN FIGHTS TRUMP’S TRANS EXECUTIVE ORDER BY DONATING TO PEOPLE SEEKING GENDER SURGERIES

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“As your mayor, I was proud to establish New York City’s first-ever office of LGBTQIA+ affairs within the first 100 days of our administration,” Mamdani said.

“This office focuses on the well-being of queer New Yorkers so that you know you have a champion and advocate within city government.”

The Justice Department is escalating its clash with California over voter-roll access, accusing state officials of blocking a federal audit — though Golden State officials warn the demand threatens voter privacy and oversteps federal authority.

The dispute centers on voter roll maintenance and access to registration records, not any publicly identified allegation of impropriety in a specific California race.

“If California genuinely wants voters to trust its elections, it should open its records, not fight to keep them closed,” Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli said in a lengthy post on X that included a copy of a letter U.S. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, who leads the DOJ office enforcing federal voting-rights laws, sent to California Secretary of State Shirley Weber last year demanding the state’s voter rolls for inspection. 

“What are they afraid of?,” Essayli questioned.

MORE THAN 500,000 CALIFORNIANS DEMAND VOTING OVERHAUL, BACK ‘STRAIGHTFORWARD’ ID LAW

Dhillon’s letter followed an Aug. 8 response from Weber’s office raising concerns about privacy protections that could be implicated by the state voter-registration data sought by the federal government. A spokesperson from California Governor Gavin Newsom’s office told Fox News Digital that “every federal court to consider the issue has ruled U.S. DOJ’s demands violate federal law,” adding that “unlike this federal administration, we don’t do things that are illegal.”

Weber’s office offered to let DOJ inspect a redacted voter-registration database by appointment in Sacramento, arguing that satisfied their legal obligations, but Dhillon rejected that proposal and demanded an electronic copy of the statewide voter list “with all fields,” according to legal filings from the ongoing dispute taking place in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

“We also have serious concerns about how California maintains its voter rolls,” Essayli wrote in his X post, calling out California Democrats for blocking the federal audit of their voter rolls. “There are open questions about whether the state is promptly removing deceased voters, people who have moved, and individuals convicted of disqualifying felonies.” 

Essayli also highlighted how California’s rules allow certain first-time voters who do not provide a Social Security number or driver’s license when registering to verify their identity with documents including gym membership cards, employer IDs, credit or debit cards, prescription labels and insurance cards — a policy his office says warrants scrutiny.

NONCITIZENS ON VOTER ROLLS IN DEMOCRAT-RUN STATE EXPOSED AS RNC CHAIR PLEDGES SECURE ELECTIONS

“On top of that, California allows third parties to collect and turn in ballots on voters’ behalf (a practice known as ballot harvesting) with few restrictions,” Essayli added. “This makes it difficult to track who actually received, completed, and submitted each ballot.”

The California Attorney General’s office pushed back on Essayli’s framing, noting that DOJ had already lost the case at the district court level and that the pending Ninth Circuit fight stems from the federal government’s appeal of that dismissal.

A U.S. District Judge dismissed the DOJ’s lawsuit in January, with the presiding judge writing that the department was seeking “an unprecedented amount of personal information” from California’s unredacted voter rolls, including names, Social Security numbers, home addresses, voting history and other sensitive information from nearly 23 million Californians. The judge also wrote that DOJ could not use federal election laws in a way that “wholly disregards the separation of powers provided for in the Constitution.”

FEDERAL JUDGE REJECTS TRUMP ADMIN LAWSUIT SEEKING MICHIGAN VOTER ROLLS

A spokesperson for Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office highlighted in a statement to Fox News Digital that the DOJ has brought approximately 30 voter roll lawsuits nationwide and has lost all eight voter roll cases that have been decided to date.

The fight for federal access to California’s voter rolls comes as voter roll maintenance has been a concern of President Donald Trump and Republicans nationally.

“If fraudsters do it right, it can be many, many more votes like this,” Illinois GOP Chairman Bob Grogan told Fox News Digital two weeks ago after a Democratic city official in his state turned herself in for allegedly using her dead mother’s name to vote. Grogan expressed particular concern with mail-in balloting, even though he did recognize its necessity in some cases.

TRUMP-APPOINTED FEDERAL JUDGE TOSSES DOJ LAWSUIT SEEKING ARIZONA VOTER DATA

“Mail ballots are especially vulnerable, which is why they should be secured, should never be mailed without a specific request from the voter, and should always be verified before they are tabulated. This case also shows how essential it is to maintain clean voter rolls,” Jason Snead, who runs the Honest Elections Project, told Fox News Digital about the Illinois case. “Had the list maintenance process been slower, it is possible this illegal vote would have been counted before the fraud was discovered. Unfortunately, too many states — particularly blue states — actively resist commonsense safeguards, which begs the question: how many other illegal votes have slipped through the system?”

Dead registrants have also fueled broader scrutiny of voter roll maintenance nationally. 

North Carolina election officials said in April they identified roughly 34,000 deceased people still listed on the state’s voter rolls after a federal database comparison, while other recent local controversies have included allegations or investigations involving deceased voters appearing on registration lists or absentee-ballot records.

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Republicans have argued cases such as these show why states should be more transparent about how they maintain voter lists. RNC Chairman Joe Gruters told Fox News Digital that the New Jersey records were “eye-opening” and said the party has sought voter roll maintenance information from nearly every state.

DOJ has already pursued a similar records fight inside California, suing Orange County’s registrar last year for allegedly refusing to provide records to help remove noncitizens from its voter-registration list. At the time, Dhillon said removing noncitizens from California’s voter rolls was “critical” to ensuring the state’s rolls are accurate and that elections are conducted without fraudulent voting.

Ken Salazar, former U.S. ambassador to Mexico under President Joe Biden, considered running for president against his former boss in 2024, he revealed.

“I should run for president,” Salazar told himself, after Biden’s disastrous July 2024 debate performance, according to a book excerpt obtained by Politico.

Salazar also claimed that he begged for a border czar and early on advised Biden to refer to the U.S. border situation as a crisis.

“There was political failure to understand the reality of the crisis at the border, and the political consequence it would have on Democrats in the 2024 election.

HOW IMMIGRATION AND BORDER SECURITY DOMINATED 2024 AND DECIDED AN ELECTION

Salazar claimed that within the administration, officials used the word “crisis” all the time, “even if at that time the White House refused to acknowledge it as such.”

When Salazar advised then-Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to use the word, Mayorkas apparently told him: “Ken, I have a lot on my plate already. I’m about to be impeached for all this border stuff. The Republicans have it out for me.”

Salazar never ended up declaring himself as a candidate despite recruiting a team and drafting a presidential platform, Politico reported.

BIDEN AIDES WARNED DONORS DROPPING OUT AND RUNNING KAMALA HARRIS WOULD BE A MISTAKE: BOOK

He had planned to throw his name into consideration when Biden dropped out, but the Democratic Party never held open primaries, instead choosing to coronate Vice President Kamala Harris as the party’s candidate unilaterally, a decision Salazar called “a mistake,” per Politico.

Salazar criticized Harris’ action, or lack thereof, on the border after she was tasked with stemming the flow of migration. Harris was dubbed the border czar, a position Salazar had pushed for the Biden White House to create, but he was unhappy with the nature of her work in the position.

“But sadly, her designation in this position was having no effect on migration flows,” he wrote.

HOW HARRIS WAS DOGGED BY ‘BORDER CZAR’ LABEL, PAST RADICAL IMMIGRATION VIEWS DURING FAILED CAMPAIGN

“[Harris] had been placed in charge of getting at the ‘root causes’ of migration, but many felt she had been ineffective,” he continued.

“For whatever reason, she had been unable to help with the border and migration crisis, even though she’d sat next door to the Oval Office for almost four years.”

Salazar, a Colorado-born lawyer of Mexican descent and his state’s first Hispanic senator, praised Biden’s eventual decision to effectively shut down the border in 2024, but acknowledged it was too late.

MARK KELLY EYES 2028 WHITE HOUSE RUN WHILE FIGHTING TRUMP DEMOTION THREAT

“This should have been a moment of vindication — after all, American voters were demanding action on the border — but it was too late, and images of an out-of-control border would dominate the closing months of the presidential election,” he wrote, per Politico.

Salazar also revealed in his book, titled “Borderlands: My Fight For An Inclusive America,” that he’s been giving out advice to potential Democratic presidential candidates, pitching them on his “borderlands platform,” an immigration policy that he says acknowledges the U.S. immigration system is broken and “must be fixed,” according to Politico.

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He has already met with Arizona Sens. Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego, both Democrats, and plans to meet with Illinois’ Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker, Politico reported.

Fox News Digital contacted Salazar, Pritzker, Gallego and Kelly for comment.

Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas predicted “disaster” in the upcoming midterms and thinks that President Donald Trump will then face “the most miserable two years of his life” during the final stretch of his White House tenure,” the New York Times reported.

Cornyn lost the Texas Republican U.S. Senate primary runoff to President Donald Trump-endorsed Lone Star State Attorney General Ken Paxton last month.

The contest was not even close — Paxton shellacked the long-serving incumbent senator in the race. Cornyn has served in the Senate since late 2002.

MAGA TRIUMPH: TRUMP ALLY KEN PAXTON DEFEATS JOHN CORNYN IN BITTER TEXAS GOP PRIMARY WAR

Trump backed Paxton a week before the May 26 contest, as early voting was already underway.

“I had really thought that we’d gone on so long with no endorsement that he was just going to stay out of it,” Cornyn said, according to the Times. “But he couldn’t resist.”

“If he would do that to me, he would do that to anybody,” Cornyn said, according to the outlet. “There’s never going to be good enough for him, other than 100 percent, you know, slavish adherence to whatever he wants. But obviously that’s not what the senator’s role is supposed to be, especially in terms of checks and balances.”

TRUMP FLEXES MAGA MUSCLE IN TEXAS SENATE RUNOFF CLASH BETWEEN CORNYN AND PAXTON

In a May 27 Truth Social post, Trump said Cornyn “will remain my friend for a long time to come, as we both watch Ken become a fantastic, common sense Senator, one who is respected by all.”

“If that’s the way friends treat you, you wonder about his enemies,” Cornyn said, according to the Times.

KEN PAXTON DIDN’T NEED TRUMP’S ENDORSEMENT TO BEAT CORNYN, TEXAS VOTERS SAY

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“It’s going to make things harder, certainly more expensive in Texas, and make it harder around the country,” Cornyn said, predicting the president will eventually regret his actions, according to the Times. “I don’t say that with any sort of desire for vengeance; I just think that’s the way it’s going to be. He’s going to have the most miserable two years of his life in the last two years of his term, I think, because I think November is going to be a disaster.”

Britain’s defense secretary resigned Thursday after accusing Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government of failing to adequately fund the military despite rising threats from Russia and growing NATO demands, delivering a major political blow to the prime minister ahead of July’s alliance summit.

In a sharply worded resignation letter, John Healey said the government had failed to commit the resources needed to execute Britain’s long-term defense strategy, arguing the country’s armed forces risk being left short of the money, personnel and industrial capacity needed to meet mounting security challenges.

“This new era for defence required further investment through the Defence Investment Plan,” Healey wrote. “Since then, you have been unable, and the Treasury has been unwilling, to commit the resources that the nation needs to defend the country at this time of rising threats.”

While European governments have pledged major increases in defense spending and warned that Russia poses a long-term threat to the alliance, many continue to struggle with the political and fiscal realities of rebuilding armed forces after decades of post-Cold War cuts. The debate has taken on added urgency as Trump pushes European nations to assume a greater share of responsibility for their own defense.

UK DEFENSE MINISTER WARNS PUTIN OF ‘SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES’ AFTER COVERT UNDERWATER MILITARY OPERATION

Healey’s departure appears to stem from a dispute over the pace and scale of future defense spending. In his letter, he argued that Britain should commit to spending 3% of gross domestic product on defense by 2030 and criticized a government funding plan that he said would reach only 2.68% by the end of the decade.

“The Government cannot warn about Russia, Iran and China, then produce a Defence Investment Plan that leaves the Armed Forces short of the money, people, stockpiles and industrial capacity needed to meet that threat,” Retired British Army Major Andrew Fox, senior associate fellow at the Henry Jackson Society, told Fox News Digital. 

“For Keir Starmer, this is now a test of seriousness. A Defence Secretary resigning over national security tells our allies, our enemies and our own troops that Britain’s defence ambitions are not being properly funded.” 

Healey had been one of Starmer’s most loyal cabinet allies, publicly defending the prime minister during recent internal Labour Party unrest.

LABOUR MP PUTS CABINET ‘ON NOTICE,’ THREATENS TO TRIGGER LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE AGAINST STARMER BY MONDAY

The resignation intensifies pressure on Starmer, who already is battling questions about his political future after a series of electoral setbacks and growing unrest within his own Labour Party.

The dispute arrives at a pivotal moment for NATO. Alliance leaders recently agreed to significantly increase defense spending targets amid continued concerns about Russia’s military ambitions and growing pressure from President Donald Trump for European allies to assume a greater share of the burden for their own defense.

Healey himself had been telling Parliament that Starmer was determined to publish the Defence Investment Plan before the upcoming NATO summit July 7. Healey learned the final details of the spending settlement only days before his Monday resignation, according to the Guardian. 

EUROPE’S $116B FIGHTER JET ‘FAILURE’ RAISES FRESH DOUBTS ABOUT ABILITY TO DEFEND ITSELF WITHOUT US

In recent weeks, Europe’s flagship Future Combat Air System sixth-generation fighter project collapsed after years of disputes between France and Germany, raising fresh doubts about the continent’s ability to execute major defense initiatives despite repeated pledges to strengthen its military posture.

Robert Jenrick, now one of Reform UK’s most prominent figures, praised Healey and directly blamed Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves. 

“Good on Healey. Shame on them. Reeves and Starmer should go too.”

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Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey likewise argued the resignation demonstrated the need for the government to devote greater resources to national defense, saying Labour must “get serious about funding our armed forces properly.”

Britain remains one of NATO’s most important military powers, but there is growing debate about whether its armed forces are large enough and adequately funded to sustain the leadership role successive governments have promised. 

Britain’s own parliamentary defense committee recently warned that while the UK remains a leading European military power, its ability to maintain that position is under pressure.

A leading nonpartisan political handicapper shifted three Senate races toward the Democrats Thursday and predicted that, with just under five months to go until the midterm elections, the Democrats have a “clearer path to winning the Senate majority.”

But Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia adds that, despite the shifts, “we still favor Republicans in the overall race for the Senate.”

Republicans control the Senate 53-47 but are battling stiff political headwinds because the party in power in the nation’s capital traditionally loses seats in the midterms. 

The GOP also faces a rough political climate fueled by economic concerns amid persistent inflation and rising gas prices tied to what polls show is an unpopular war with Iran and President Donald Trump’s underwater approval ratings.

THESE MIDTERM RACES WILL DETERMINE WHETHER REPUBLICANS HOLD THEIR SENATE MAJORITY

Sabato’s Crystal Ball shifted the race in battleground North Carolina from toss-up to lean Democrat. Former two-term Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper is facing off against former Republican National Committee Chair Mike Whatley in the race to succeed retiring GOP Sen. Thom Tillis.

It moved the Senate showdown in Alaska, where GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan is expected to face off against former Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola, from lean Republican to toss-up.

And in Ohio, where appointed GOP Sen. Jon Husted is being challenged by former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, it shifted the rating from lean Republican to toss up.

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The movement toward the Democrats in the Ohio race comes a week after a Fox News poll indicated Brown up by eight points, 53%-45%, over Husted.

Democrats need a net gain pickup of four seats in the midterms to win back control of the Senate they lost in the 2024 elections.

Pointing to the four races it now considers toss-ups, Sabato’s Crystal Ball said, “There are now enough Toss-up races to give Democrats a clearer path to winning the Senate majority. … But Republicans can block Democrats by winning just one of the Toss-ups, meaning that they’re still better-positioned to hold the majority.”

The ratings shift by Sabato’s Crystal Ball comes a month after another top nonpartisan political handicapper, the Cook Report, moved its rankings of four key Senate races in favor of the Democrats.

DEMOCRATS EYE NARROW PATH TO CAPTURE SENATE MAJORITY, BUT ONE WRONG MOVE COULD SINK THEM

Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) Chair Kirsten Gillibrand of New York is optimistic Democrats can flip the chamber. Gillibrand told Fox News Digital earlier this year she sees “all the makings of a blue wave.”

Gillibrand’s rival, National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Chair Tim Scott of South Carolina, acknowledged in a Fox News Digital interview earlier this year that “there’s no doubt the climate has gotten more and more difficult.”

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But Scott emphasized he remains “incredibly optimistic, not only about holding the majority, but still expanding the majority.”

And NRSC National Press Secretary Bernadette Breslin told Fox News Digital Thursday that “no battleground races can be taken for granted. While Democrat candidates lurch further left to appease their radical base, Republicans are staying focused on lowering costs, investing in American workers, and doing the work required to defend the majority.”

A swing-district Democrat disparaged Trump’s landmark overtime tax break despite his national firefighters union’s support, prompting his GOP opponent to accuse him of a “flip flop.”

Nazareth, Pennsylvania’s Bob Brooks — running against Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Pa., in a toss-up seat — is the president of the commonwealth’s firefighters union, setting up an apparent discrepancy with the national council, though the Democrat’s campaign says his concerns about the cuts are more nuanced and that it is the Republican who is harming first responders on the issue.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB) provides a maximum annual deduction of $12,500 on qualified overtime compensation, phasing out after $150,000 of gross income or $300,000 for joint filers, according to the Internal Revenue Service.

Brooks, president of the Pennsylvania Professional Firefighters Association — which is a subsidiary of the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) — criticized the OBBB’s provisions during an appearance on the progressive “Meidas Touch” podcast in May.

“Donald Trump just did it here [in Pennsylvania]. He was up at the [Mount Airy] casino. But literally, he brought a guy up on stage and claimed he was a fireman and profiting from the no-tax-on-overtime, which 90 percent of our guys didn’t get the benefit from anyways, but the guy wasn’t a paid fireman,” Brooks said, referring to a Stroudsburg-area first responder whom Trump introduced at a Mount Pocono rally in December.

FIREFIGHTERS UNION BOSS WINS HOTLY-CONTESTED DEM PRIMARY IN A KEY PENNSYLVANIA SWING DISTRICT

“I just don’t understand how they keep spewing the garbage,” added Brooks, a former Bethlehem firefighter of many years who notably served in top union roles.

The man Trump introduced was indeed a volunteer firefighter but also a paid police officer in Monroe County who would therefore qualify for the no tax on overtime provision in his other first responder role.

Conversely, the IAFF came out in support of Republicans’ tax policies that included the elimination of levies on qualified overtime pay.

“Firefighters and emergency medical workers shouldn’t be penalized for choosing a career in public service,” IAFF president Edward Kelly previously told the New York Post.

Kelly called the new overtime rule a “needed fix” for his 350,000 members whose jobs demand “long hours.”

REPUBLICANS RIP 4 BLUE STATES FOR KEEPING TAXES ON TIPS, OVERTIME AFTER TRUMP REPRIEVE

“President Trump respects the contributions lAFF members make to our country and recognizes the importance of ensuring these brave men and women can keep more of their hard-earned money,” Kelly told the paper.

Meanwhile, the Fraternal Order of Police also wrote an April letter to Reps. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., and Emilia Sykes, D-Ohio, expressing support for House legislation ending taxes on overtime, noting it positively affects law enforcement officers nationwide.

In response, a spokesperson for Brooks said the Democrat “ran into burning buildings for 20 years [and] knows what hard work is, and he knows that first responders deserve to keep more of their hard-earned money.”

The spokesperson said Brooks does support “no tax on overtime” and “no tax on tips,” saying that instead it is Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Pa.; his opponent; who doesn’t understand the issue.

“Ryan Mackenzie is a life-long politician who wouldn’t know a hard day’s work if it hit him in the face,” Brooks’ spokesperson said.

A source familiar with the matter said that, despite the IAFF’s endorsement of Trump’s policy, Brooks’ comments to Meidas Touch reflect how some firefighters do not qualify for the benefit, adding that Brooks supports fixing that discrepancy.

They added that Brooks would however not actually support any effort to repeal such no-tax-on-overtime benefits.

In a statement on his website about rural Carbon County being hurt by Washington policies, Brooks said that he would “work to repeal” the OBBB to restore higher SNAP funding, which also included the overtime policy.

The source also accused Mackenzie of voting to cut funding for first responder support through Community Project Funding Grants (CFP) – a contention Mackenzie’s camp denies.

NRCC LAUNCHES AD CAMPAIGN TARGETING DOZENS OF VULNERABLE DEMS WHO VOTED AGAINST KEY TRUMP PROPOSAL

The grants plan preceded Mackenzie’s entering office in 2025, and there was later bipartisan agreement to forgo the spending bill that included the grants in favor of a continuing resolution (CR) to keep the government funded rather than adopt a new framework. The Republican voted in favor of it along with several Democrats.

“No CPF funding was allocated in FY 2025 as a result of the decision by congressional leaders on both sides to support a clean, bipartisan continuing resolution,” Mackenzie said in a statement, noting that Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., supported the same CR.

“Bob Brooks is a proven conman who was found by a court to have stolen over $100,000 from his own family,” Mackenzie said in response to the attacks.

“His latest flip-flop proves once again that this fraudster is only in it for himself.”

“Instead of standing with firefighters and the over 29 million Americans who saw record refunds from tax relief on overtime, Bob Brooks supported repealing these tax cuts and advocating for massive tax increases on everyone. Now he is now trying to trick voters by changing his unpopular position and thinking no one will notice.

The House Republicans’ campaign arm told Fox News Digital that voters can proverbially see the truth through the controversy.

“Bernie Bro Bob Brooks’ radical high-tax agenda would devastate working-class Pennsylvanians. Voters know Brooks wants them to keep less of their hard-earned money.” National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Reilly Richardson said.

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Brooks’ website indicated the IAFF has also endorsed Brooks — who enjoys support from Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

Fox News Digital reached out to IAFF for comment.

Former President Joe Biden’s chief of staff, Ron Klain, is facing fierce pushback online after jumping into the growing controversy surrounding Maine Senate Democratic nominee Graham Platner’s Nazi-linked tattoo, attempting to defend and explain away the Democrat’s disputed ink.

“The fact that a Biden WH Chief of Staff Democrat is comfortable downplaying a Nazi tattoo from a different Democrat tells you everything you need to know about today’s Democrats,” posted Prager University contributor Shabbos Kestenbaum.

Klain sparked a fight with the Republican Jewish Coalition Wednesday when he defended Platner on the group’s Instagram post condemning the candidate and calling on Democrats to withdraw their support. Platner has denied the tattoo was intended as a Nazi symbol, even as multiple people familiar with the candidate have identified it as an SS skull-and-crossbones design, which he has since covered.

“This is just a partisan attack,” Klain wrote. “The tattoo was a skull and crossbones to remember his fallen comrades from his service in Afghanistan.”

GRAHAM PLATNER BLAMES NAZI TATTOO ON MILITARY ‘CULTURE,’ DRAWS BACKLASH FROM GOP VETERANS

Klain served as Biden’s chief of staff from 2021 to 2023, before becoming Airbnb’s chief legal officer. He was appointed to serve on the United States Holocaust Memorial Council by Biden in January 2025 before President Donald Trump removed him nearly four months later.

The United States Holocaust Memorial Council is the presidentially appointed board that oversees the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.

The exchange ignited a firestorm on social media, where critics argued Klain’s defense reflected a broader unwillingness among Democrats to distance themselves from Platner amid the growing controversy.

“Here’s former Biden WH Chief of Staff, and @Airbnb Chief Legal Officer, Ron Klain whitewashing Graham Platner’s Nazi SS Totenkopf tattoo. This, after hosting a fundraiser for Platner last week. As a former United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Council @HolocaustMuseum member, Klain absolutely knows better,” RJC posted to X of the exchange. 

WATCH: DEM SENATORS EXCUSE PLATNER’S CONDUCT AT CRISIS HUDDLE WITH EMBATTLED MAINE CANDIDATE

“This is a disgusting lie from Ron Klain and @Airbnb should be deeply concerned someone this dishonest is working for the company in a sensitive role,” posted Hudson Institute adjunct fellow Josh Block.

“What has become of us when prominent Jews defend Nazi sympathizers? I am disgusted. Ex-Biden chief Ron Klain defends Graham Platner’s Nazi tattoo,” wrote former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman.

“It was NOT to honor his fallen comrades, which is wildly manipulative lie,” wrote Republican communicator Matt Whitlock on X.

SENATE CANDIDATE GRAHAM PLATNER SENT EXPLICIT TEXTS TO MULTIPLE WOMEN WHILE MARRIED, WIFE SAYS: REPORT

“You do not have to debase yourself for Platner. Pick your values over partisanship. Focus on other elections. This man is not worth your self-respect,” wrote columnist Alex Zeldin.

“Worse: The highest-ranking elected Jewish official in the U.S., Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, still endorses Platner and has refused to revoke his support,” wrote Antisemitism Watch founder Trish Posner.

Several of Platner’s ex-girlfriends have alleged the embattled nominee referred to his tattoo as “my Totenkopf” because of his belief that his unit shared similarities to the Nazi SS paramilitary forces.

During his victory speech Tuesday, Platner acknowledged the controversy that has followed him while on the campaign trail.

“Redemption is not just some simple or easy destination. It’s a journey. I’ve made mistakes in my life, mistakes that I regret, that I live with, that I continue to learn from and I’m still far from perfect,” said Platner. “But every day I wake up and I try to be a little bit better and a little bit kinder than I was the day before and if you give me the chance, I will be a senator for the people who cannot afford to buy a senator.”

A string of controversies have followed Platner as he eyes to unseat Republican Sen. Susan Collins.

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In the heat of the primary race, Reddit posts surfaced detailing his past inflammatory comments, while he was also accused of physical misconduct, including aggressive behavior, with a former romantic partner. Platner denied those accusations.

Fox News Digital reached out to Ron Klain, Airbnb and Graham Platner for comment.

President Donald Trump on Thursday canceled strikes against Iran, saying a deal with Iran is expected soon, hours after promising to attack the Islamic Republic amid tense negotiations. 

“Based on the fact that discussions with the Islamic Republic of Iran have been brought to the highest level of Iranian leadership and approved, I have, as President of the United States of America, canceled the scheduled strikes and bombings against Iran this evening,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

President Donald Trump on Thursday said he had called off strikes against Iran while a deal is being worked out.

US ARMY HELICOPTER GOES DOWN, BUT PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP SAYS ‘PILOTS ARE FINE’

“Discussions and final points have been, in both concept and great detail, approved by all parties involved, including the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Turkey, Pakistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Egypt, and others,” he added.

Trump also wrote that the U.S. naval blockade on Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz—the vital global shipping route that sees 20 percent of world oil and natural gas pass through—will “remain in full force” until a deal is finalized.

The sudden change came after Trump vowed on Wednesday to initiate a forceful response, accusing Tehran of prolonging nuclear negotiations and targeting a U.S. helicopter.

Hours before canceling the strikes, Trump said U.S. forces would be hitting Iran “VERY HARD TONIGHT.” In response, Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, a key figure in U.S.-Iran negotiations, warned against using “wrong strategies and impulsive decisions.”

TRUMP KEEPS FORECASTING AN IRAN DEAL – WHY THE WHITE HOUSE STILL THINKS IT CAN HAPPEN

“Wrong strategies and impulsive decisions will reset the entire board for the worse, explode energy infrastructure and markets, and create an endless quagmire that you will be stuck in for years,” he wrote on X.

“We’re going to be attacking them and attacking them very hard,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

On Tuesday, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said U.S. forces had completed self-defense strikes against Iran at Trump’s orders in response to the downing of the helicopter.

The two crew members aboard a U.S. Army AH-64 Apache were rescued by American forces after the helicopter went down near the coast of Oman while patrolling regional waters, CENTCOM said Monday. Both soldiers were safely rescued within two hours.

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Despite being close to a deal, Trump said, Iran has been “tapping us along” and “playing us for suckers.”

FIRST ON FOX: The Justice Department sued The Commonwealth of Virginia on Thursday over two new laws the DOJ says would subject masked federal agents to criminal penalties and threaten local ICE cooperation agreements.

“Law enforcement officers risk their lives every day to keep Americans safe, and they do not deserve to be doxed or harassed simply for carrying out their duties,” said acting Attorney General Todd Blanche in comment provided to Fox News Digital on Thursday. “Virginia’s anti-law enforcement policies regulate the federal government and are designed to create risk for our agents. These laws cannot stand.”

The lawsuit, first shared with Fox News Digital, argues Virginia is violating the Constitution by attempting to dictate how federal officers carry out law enforcement operations — including when they can wear masks, what identifying information they must display and whether local agencies can maintain ICE cooperation agreements unless the federal government accepts state-imposed conditions. The DOJ said the laws threaten officer safety, undermine federal immigration enforcement and violate the Supremacy Clause.

At the heart of the suit, are a pair of laws that Democratic Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed, which are set to take effect on July, including: one restricting law enforcement officers, including federal officers, from wearing facial coverings while on duty and requiring them to display identifying information, and another imposing state-mandated conditions on federal immigration enforcement agreements.

ICE PRESSURES SPANBERGER AS FAIRFAX MURDER SUSPECTS TRIGGER NEW DETAINERS IN ‘SANCTUARY’ CLASH

The DOJ said federal officers who violate Virginia’s mask and identification law could face a Class 1 misdemeanor, punishable under Virginia law by up to 12 months in jail, a fine of up to $2,500, or both.

The lawsuit names Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones and left-wing Fairfax County Commonwealth Attorney Steve Descano — who was previously backed by groups connected to George Soros. 

The suit claims Virginia’s mask ban is “blatantly unconstitutional” because it attempts to regulate “what federal officers may and may not wear” while carrying out their duties, exposing agents’ identities and increasing risks to them and their families.

“The Department of Justice will steadfastly protect the privacy and safety of law enforcement from unconstitutional state laws like Virginia’s,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate of the DOJ’s Civil Division in the press release.

FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS CALIFORNIA LAW FORCING ICE AGENTS TO REMOVE MASKS DURING OPERATIONS

DOJ is seeking a court order to block both laws that begin July 1.

Spanberger, Jones and Descano have all moved to counter the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement agenda in Virginia.

In February, Spanberger issued an executive order that rescinded a Youngkin-era order directing state law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration enforcement efforts.

TOM HOMAN VOWS TO WORK AROUND NEW DEM VA GOV SPANBERGER’S EXECUTIVE ORDER ENDING ICE COOPERATION

“The President told us that we are safer because unaccountable, poorly trained ICE agents are arresting mothers and detaining children. Our broken immigration system is something to be fixed — not an excuse to terrorize our communities,” Spanberger posted on X in response to Trump’s State of the Union.

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The suit comes as there have been ongoing protests outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention center in New Jersey where protesters verbally abused ICE agents, obstructed vehicles, allegedly assaulted officers, and made threats leading to multiple arrests.

“Governor Spanberger cannot tell Federal officers how to do their job,” said Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward in the press release. “She certainly cannot prohibit them from ensuring their own safety in conducting Federal law enforcement operations. Our suit today stops those unconstitutional efforts.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the offices of Gov. Spanberger and AG Jones for comment.

Congress’ ban on tax dollars flowing to Planned Parenthood is about to lapse, and a Senate Republican wants to investigate piles of taxpayer money that has allegedly been used by the organization to push transgender procedures. 

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., in a letter first obtained by Fox News Digital, is demanding that Planned Parenthood be put under a microscope for roughly $1.5 billion in Medicare and Medicaid funding that he alleges “are flowing to an organization that promotes transgender treatments on minors.”

Fox News Digital did not hear back from Planned Parenthood for comment. 

SEN HAWLEY WARNS IT WOULD BE ‘UNCONSCIONABLE’ IF BILLIONS OF TAXPAYER FUNDS FLOW TO TRANS KIDS’ SEX CHANGES

Hawley wants Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services Administrator Mehmet Oz to open an investigation into Planned Parenthood as part of the agency’s continued pursuit to uncover fraud in federally funded healthcare programs. 

“I urge you to direct your investigative efforts toward Planned Parenthood and its role in pushing transgender madness onto minor children,” Hawley said. 

Republicans last year banned federal tax dollars from flowing to abortion providers in President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” but that ban is set to lapse on July 4.

UNDERCOVER INVESTIGATION: PLANNED PARENTHOOD PRESCRIBING HORMONES TO MINORS WITH MINIMAL OVERSIGHT

Hawley and others have tried to extend the ban, with his attempt to amend the latest budget reconciliation package to keep the ban going failing earlier this year. That amendment would have extended the ban on providing Medicaid funding to abortion providers until 2035. 

His focus now is on uncovering whether the $1.5 billion in funding was directed toward pushing minors toward gender-affirming medication or referring minors for gender-affirming surgical procedures. 

Hawley accused Planned Parenthood of exploiting “legal loopholes to provide these dangerous and irreversible gender-transition drugs to minors without their parents’ consent.” 

TRUMP’S PUSH FOR $350 BILLION ‘ARSENAL OF FREEDOM’ HITS GOP SKEPTICISM

“The organization openly advertises that it provides sex-change drugs and refers for transgender surgeries,” Hawley said. “According to one recent report, Planned Parenthood’s provision of this so-called “gender-affirming care” has exploded — with a 40% year-over-year increase.”

Hawley is pinpointing a stream of money between 2019 and 2022 that was tracked by the Government Accountability Office in a report first published in November 2023. That report did not outline that the money was used to push transgender surgeries nor medication. 

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“In other words, billions of taxpayer dollars have been taken from those in poverty and the elderly and given to Planned Parenthood,” Hawley said. “Moreover, these funds apparently have been used to prop up Planned Parenthood’s provision of transgender procedures to children.”

President Donald Trump announced Thursday that former SEC Chairman and current U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton will be the next permanent director of national intelligence.

The nomination followed a brief stint by acting Director William Pulte, who took over after Tulsi Gabbard stepped down.

“I am pleased to announce the Nomination of very Highly Respected Jay Clayton, former Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the former Head of Sullivan & Cromwell, one of the most prominent and successful Law Firms anywhere in the World, and the current United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, to be the next Director of National Intelligence and, importantly, to serve in my Cabinet,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

“Few people anywhere in the Legal Community are respected at the level of Jay,” he added.

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“I encourage the United States Senate to confirm Jay as soon as possible,” Trump said.

This is a breaking story. Return for updates.

After months of predicting a nuclear deal with Iran was just around the corner, President Donald Trump appears to be testing whether military pressure can accomplish what diplomacy alone has not.

The strategy was on full display over the past 24 hours. Trump followed through on his threat to strike Iran again overnight, launching a barrage of Tomahawk missiles and fighter jet attacks against Iranian targets while warning that additional bombing would follow unless Iran agreed to a deal. Hours later, however, he announced he had canceled planned strikes for Thursday evening, saying negotiations had been elevated to the highest levels of Iran’s leadership and that the parties had approved the final contours of an agreement.

The rapid sequence of threats, strikes and renewed diplomacy highlights an increasingly familiar pattern in Trump’s approach to Iran: using military pressure to push negotiations forward while keeping a diplomatic off-ramp open. The question is whether the strategy is increasing Washington’s leverage — or reinforcing Iran’s belief that the United States ultimately wants a deal more than continued confrontation.

“He has made so many threats that he has not carried through on and telegraphed on many occasions his strong desire to end this war as soon as possible, that I think Iran does not take these threats seriously,” Michael Eisenstadt, director of the Military and Security Studies Program at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told Fox News Digital.

TRUMP KEEPS FORECASTING AN IRAN DEAL — WHY THE WHITE HOUSE STILL THINKS IT CAN HAPPEN

Trump said Iranian officials contacted him during the strikes and asked for the bombing to stop.  

“If they don’t sign the deal, we’ll bomb the sh*t out of them tomorrow night,” he said.

Trump suggested Thursday the campaign could eventually expand to Iran’s energy infrastructure, including Kharg Island, the country’s most important oil export hub.

“At some point in the not too distant future, we will be taking Kharg Island, and other oil infrastructure points, and assume total control of their Oil and Gas Markets, much like we have with Venezuela.” 

But later, he sounded less certain. 

“My preference has always been to take Kharg Island. I don’t know that America has the stomach for it, to be honest,” Trump said on Fox and Friends. 

Yet even as he promised additional military action, Trump maintained that negotiations had been on the verge of success.

“We’ll see what happens with the deal. We were really close to a deal,” he said earlier Wednesday.

The comments marked a sharp escalation from a president who only days earlier predicted an agreement could arrive within “two or three days” and has repeatedly suggested a breakthrough remains imminent despite months of unresolved disputes over uranium enrichment, sanctions relief and Iran’s nuclear stockpile.

“They keep tapping us along,” Trump told reporters Wednesday. “They keep playing us for suckers because you know what? They dealt with some very stupid presidents.”

Trump’s latest actions suggest the administration is still offering Tehran an off-ramp through a negotiated nuclear agreement. The question is whether military pressure strengthens Washington’s hand — or whether Iran has concluded it can withstand the costs and outlast the campaign.

Iran “has more resilience,” said James Robbins, dean of academics at the Institute of World Politics, noting that Iran has been forced to work around global isolation for decades. “They’re kind of used to sanctions. They’re used to economic dislocations, much more so than Americans.”

Behnam Taleblu, senior director of the Iran Program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, argued that mounting pressure does not necessarily make the regime more willing to compromise.

TRUMP SAYS IRAN IS ‘NEGOTIATING ON FUMES,’ BELIEVES REGIME THOUGHT THEY COULD OUTWAIT HIM

“The more desperate the regime becomes, the more aggressive the regime becomes,” Taleblu told Fox News Digital.

He also questioned whether strikes on bridges, power plants and other infrastructure would fundamentally alter Iran’s decision-making, arguing that the regime is primarily concerned with threats to its own hold on power.

“Until those making the key national security decisions, those enforcing the key national security decisions, and those enforcing the regime’s longest war, which is on its own people, so long as those three are not targeted, we’ll be back where we started,” he said.

Eisenstadt argued that Iran may ultimately believe it can absorb sanctions, withstand military pressure and simply wait for political pressures inside the U.S. to grow.

“I think they believe that time is on their side, given domestic criticism of the war and its economic impacts in the United States,” he said.

Trump’s lates strike threats came days after an Iranian drone brought down a U.S. Apache helicopter operating near the Strait of Hormuz, triggering retaliatory U.S. strikes on Iranian radar and air-defense sites and threatening to unravel an already fragile ceasefire.

The administration’s goal has long been that sustained military and economic pressure would eventually force Iran to make concessions that months of negotiations alone have failed to produce. Trump and his advisors have repeatedly argued that sanctions, military operations and the U.S.-led blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which has cut off the pathway for roughly 80% of Iran’s oil exports, have left Iran increasingly isolated and economically vulnerable.

Iranian officials publicly rejected the notion that expanding the target set would force Iran to bend.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian called Trump’s threat to strike power plants and transportation infrastructure a “sign of desperation.”

“Critical infrastructures are the lifeblood of the people,” Pezeshkian said in a post on X.

Trump repeatedly has rejected the notion that Iran can wait out his administration.

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“They thought they were going to out-wait me, you know. ‘We’ll out-wait him. He’s got the midterms.’ I don’t care about the midterms,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting May 27.

Despite Trump’s repeated assertions that a deal is near, negotiators remain divided over several core issues, including uranium enrichment, sanctions relief and the future of Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium. Iranian officials have acknowledged progress on some elements of a potential agreement while warning that significant obstacles remain.

Whether the latest round of strikes changes Iran’s calculations may determine whether Trump’s strategy of military pressure succeeds in producing the agreement he insists remains within reach.

President Donald Trump wants Congress to supercharge military funding and pass stalled voter ID and citizenship verification legislation in one fell swoop, but many Republicans aren’t sold on the plan. 

Trump on Wednesday called on congressional Republicans to steer around Democrats’ opposition again and “immediately” pass a third budget reconciliation package, including $350 billion in defense spending coupled with the stalled Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act. 

“This is a GENERATIONAL Investment in our Military, even bigger than President Reagan’s! Recon 3.0 is the ONLY path to the full $1.5 TRILLION DOLLAR Military Budget our Warriors need in order to build THE ARSENAL OF FREEDOM,” Trump said on Truth Social. 

TRUMP’S SAVE AMERICA ACT SHOWS SIGNS OF LIFE IN THE SENATE DESPITE REPUBLICAN REVOLT

The president’s request came just hours after he signed Republicans’ second budget reconciliation bill into law that would fund immigration enforcement through the rest of his presidency for $70 billion. Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act was also passed through budget reconciliation.

But many Republicans are lukewarm at best to the idea of restarting the budget reconciliation process, which would require strict party unity amid a dwindling calendar of legislative days heading into the November midterm elections. 

The GOP has also yet to fully come around to Trump’s $1.5 trillion defense spending request, and some lawmakers have voiced concern about circumventing the normal appropriations process to boost defense spending.

Trump’s plea for a third bite at the apple comes as he and congressional Republicans are increasingly at odds over policy decisions that have made passing legislation on the Hill all the more difficult.

TRUMP SCORES VICTORY DESPITE GROWING GOP DIVIDE AFTER SENATE PASSES $70B ICE, BORDER PATROL FUNDING PACKAGE

Some Republicans who have pushed for a third attempt at the party-line process have acknowledged that it’s unlikely to work. Further, Congress is unlikely to pass any other bills before the midterm elections in November because of Democratic opposition. 

“I think it’s a very, very long shot that anything passes between now and the midterms,” Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said. “It gives me heartburn to say that, but I think that’s political reality.” 

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., didn’t completely close the door on another reconciliation bill, but he noted that there is skepticism among Republicans on moving forward.

“You’ve got to have something that you can win on,” Thune said. “And you’ve heard some of our folks already express their views on another reconciliation bill.”

Earlier in the week, during a contentious Senate Appropriations hearing, Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., both agreed that another reconciliation bill was unlikely to happen, particularly as a dumping ground for billions in additional defense spending. 

TRUMP LOCKS IN ICE FUNDING THROUGH END OF PRESIDENCY AFTER HOUSE PASSES $70B PACKAGE

Collins, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, said, “Reconciliation is not the best approach.”

“It would be very difficult to get the reconciliation bill approved,” Collins said. 

Discussions on a third reconciliation package were underway in the House prior to Trump’s public endorsement. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has voiced confidence that his chamber will clear a third budget bill by the August recess.

But some GOP lawmakers have questioned its viability amid Republicans’ slim majority and the potential lack of a unifying policy idea to keep the conference together.

“I haven’t quite heard enough policy proposals that lead me to think it’s going to gel, but I’m certainly open-minded,” Rep. Nick Langworthy, R-N.Y., told Fox News Digital on Wednesday.

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Rep. Kevin Kiley, I-Calif., a Republican-turned-independent who voted against Trump’s $70 billion immigration enforcement measure, indicated he isn’t likely to support a third attempt.

“We have now gotten to this habit of one party takes power, they do reconciliation bills and the other party does it, and this cycle hasn’t been good,” the California lawmaker told Fox News Digital. “It’s one of the things that fed the cycles of dysfunction that we have around here.”

EXCLUSIVE — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is being asked to strip the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) of its tax-exempt status, after a Republican congressman alleged their funding of extremist groups is “an act of fraud.”

The plea from Rep. Mark Harris, R-N.C., makes the case that while raking in millions under the guise of fighting hate, the SPLC showed a clear pattern of targeting conservatives on its infamous “Hate Map” while funding the activities of actual extremist groups like the Ku Klux Klan, as alleged in a Department of Justice (DOJ) indictment.

“The SPLC has reached a point where it’s become extremely obvious that they are certainly not the organization anymore that they were maybe even founded to be, but they’ve become a strong left-wing political organization that is really just funding groups that most Americans are absolutely and would be absolutely appalled to know,” Harris told Fox News Digital in a Wednesday interview.

The lawmaker’s letter to Bessent establishes that a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization “must be organized and operated primarily for charitable, educational, or similar purposes and cannot engage in political activity,” and explains why he thinks the SPLC is bucking that law.

CHIEF OF INDICTED SPLCE FACES HOUSE GRILLING OVER ALLEGED SECRET PAYMENTS TO KKK MEMBERS

“[T]he SPLC has consistently engaged in the partisan targeting of conservative groups by placing them on its so-called ‘hate map,’ alongside organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan and the Aryan Brotherhood,” the letter notes.

“Meanwhile, violent left-wing groups such as Antifa and Jane’s Revenge have been widely ignored by the self-described civil rights organization.”

Harris, a pastor, referenced a major Biden-era scandal — the DOJ’s monitoring of what it called “radical traditionalist Catholics.” — in a  House Judiciary hearing in the spring. The Biden administration allegedly used the SPLC’s guidance to justify the monitoring.

HAWLEY PRESSES FBI TO PROBE ALLEGED BIDEN-ERA TARGETING OF CHRISTIANS

The Alabama-based nonprofit also lumped mainstream Christian groups, like the Family Research Council and Alliance Defending Freedom, into its “Hate Map.”

And in 2012, crazed gunman Floyd Lee Corkins II attacked the Family Research Council office in Washington, D.C., and shot a security guard after he found out they were designated as an anti-LGBT organization on the SPLC’s website.

“I mean, we could go on and on and list those groups, but they all have in common that they happen to be just conservative groups in this country that stand on conservative principles,” Harris told Fox News Digital.

The North Carolina representative also tore into the SPLC over allegations the group funneled $4 million donor dollars into shell companies to fund the KKK and other extremist organizations, all while claiming to fight hate.

Harris claimed in his letter to Bessent this was “an act of fraud” rather than charity, and needs to be addressed as such.

NEO-NAZIS, ‘SADISTIC’ BIKERS AND CHARLOTTESVILLE ORGANIZER: 5 OF THE MOST SHOCKING SPLC INFORMANTS

“Through what we’re learning in this indictment by the Department of Justice that even points out how this $4 million has been misused or used, that one example was that they actually funded a Ku Klux Klan rally and funded the cross burning and paid for the gas to burn the cross,” he said.

He accused the SPLC of creating the racism it claimed to fight.

Harris referenced claims from this week’s congressional hearing that the SPLC saw a spike in contributions after the deadly 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. The group is accused of paying an informant to help plan the rally.

“That’s the way these groups work because, again, it becomes a money-making machine,” said Harris. “If they can keep things stirred up, if they keep things with people fighting, if they could keep people divided … then they accomplish what they want to accomplish, which at the end of the day, is all about the almighty dollar.”

DOJ SAYS SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER FUNNELED $3M+ TO WHITE SUPREMACIST AND EXTREMIST GROUPS

Harris’ letter concluded: “The evidence is clear: the SPLC does not operate as a charitable organization and should therefore lose its tax-exempt status. I respectfully ask that you direct the IRS to examine the SPLC’s Section 501(c)(3) status and take appropriate action to revoke their tax-exempt status.”

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The SPLC has denied the DOJ’s allegations.

The group did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin accused the Biden administration of turning a “blind eye” to widespread reports of sexual abuse targeting migrants during a Thursday press conference. 

“We’re going to enforce our nation’s laws, and we’re going to right the wrongs that the Biden administration turned a blind eye to,” Mullin said. “It’s horrific to what’s happening right in our own country because of four years of a blind eye that allowed unvetted sponsors to come pick up 450,000 kids on our borders … their own reports [were] reporting that over a third of the females, regardless of age, was sexually assaulted before they made it to their border.”

In May 2025, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, obtained Department of Health and Human Services data showing that 65,605 reports regarding migrant children were ignored or dismissed under President Joe Biden, including 7,346 reports of human trafficking. Within 100 days of assuming power, the Trump administration had opened dozens of legal investigations from the previously inactive reports.

NOEM SAYS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION HAS LOCATED 127K MISSING MIGRANT CHILDREN LOST UNDER BIDEN

During the press conference, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced that three individuals, all purportedly illegal immigrants from Guatemala, had been indicted in the Northern District of Ohio for allegedly conspiring to smuggle more than a dozen children into the United States by “exploiting the loopholes created by the last administration.”

“This is one example, one indictment, but it is not unique. There are over 15,500 super-sponsor cases that we have identified, along with DHS. And again, these sponsor cases are when somebody sponsors more than three children, unrelated,” Blanche said. 

Mullin took an emotional tone later in the press conference.

“What’s inhumane about taking care of our kids?” he asked. “As a father of six with three young girls, I’ll do whatever I have to do, I will. I will move heaven and hell to go find these kids.”

“We’re going to bring you to justice. We’re going to charge you, and we’re going to work side by side with Todd Blanch and DOJ to make sure you pay for your crimes,” Mullin added.

HUNDREDS OF JAILED ILLEGAL ALIENS RELEASED BACK ONTO BLUE-STATE STREETS DESPITE ICE DETAINERS, RECORDS SHOW

A 2021 HHS Office of Inspector General report found that large numbers of child migrant sponsors were not properly vetted before minors were released to them, including 19% of sponsors who authorities never received FBI fingerprint or state child abuse and neglect registry checks.  

ICE SWEEPS UP CHILD PREDATORS, RAPISTS ACROSS US AS MULLIN TAKES HELM OF DHS

While internal government probes uncovered problems in the Biden administration’s processing of migrant children, the administration did take some action in response to abuse concerns and sponsor-vetting failures.

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In July 2024, for instance, the Biden administration sued Southwest Key, a company that operated a processing facility for unaccompanied migrant children, alleging that employees sexually abused and harassed the minors in their care. The administration also accepted recommendations for reform following the 2021 HHS OIG report.  

The DOJ and Biden’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

DHS directed Fox News Digital to Mullin’s comments during the press conference when approached for additional comment. 

“We found 146,000 kids so far. Some of these kids claimed that they were raped over 600 times. I don’t care who you are. If you can’t stand for law enforcement to go find these kids, who are you?” Mullins said during the press conference. 

A key U.S. surveillance program is on the brink of expiring after House Democrats and a group of conservatives sank a temporary extension amid a standoff over President Donald Trump’s intelligence chief pick. 

Lawmakers voted 198-218 on Thursday to extend Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) for three weeks, falling well short of the two-thirds majority needed for passage.

The measure, meant to give Congress more time to negotiate a long-term renewal, faced an uphill battle amid widespread Democratic opposition. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., warned he would withhold support for extending the program until Trump reversed his decision to name Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence. 

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., put the bill on the floor via suspension of the rules, a fast-track procedure that requires a higher threshold to secure passage.

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He indicated he would not keep the House in session before the spy law was scheduled to lapse Saturday at 12:01 a.m.

“I attempted to pass a short-term extension for three weeks. Clean extension, no changes to the law,” Johnson told reporters following the failed vote. And the Democrats … voted against it and applauded themselves as they left the building. What would be the point of me going through this exercise over and over?”

Reps. Jared Golden, D-Maine, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash., Don Davis, D-N.C., Vicente Gonzalez and Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, Susie Lee, D-N.V., and Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., were the 7 Democrats to cross party lines and support extending the program through July 2.

Meanwhile, 19 Republicans, who were skeptical of a clean reauthorization of Section 702 without greater privacy guardrails, joined the majority of Democrats in voting down the measure.

Thursday’s vote was a notable setback for Trump, who urged lawmakers to reauthorize the program ahead of the June 12 deadline with no modifications.

Democrats and some Republicans have argued that Pulte, a Trump insider and senior housing official, is unqualified for the top intelligence post.

Trump has largely defended and refused to bow to Democrats’ demands. His comments Wednesday that he is actively looking for a permanent replacement for Pulte, who is expected to begin the job June 19, were not enough to soften Democrats’ opposition. 

The standoff over the critical surveillance tool has led to tensions erupting in the lower chamber with little time to act before the law’s expiration.

Jeffries called Pulte a “malignant clown” during a news conference earlier this week and pledged that House Democrats would probe his tenure at the Federal Housing Finance Agency if they retake power in November. As the agency’s director, Pulte launched investigations into several Trump foes over alleged mortgage fraud.

Meanwhile, Republicans have warned that letting the spy law sunset would leave the United States uniquely vulnerable amid an influx of foreigners into the country with the World Cup underway and as the war with Iran drags on. They argue that Democrats are putting the country at a grave security risk by failing to extend the program into July.

“45 countries descend upon the United States for World Cup games, which just so happens to be the week that Democrats have actively chosen to disallow this critical national security tool from being renewed to allow it to go dark,” House Intelligence Chairman Rick Crawford, R-Ark., said Wednesday. “This is unserious, very dangerous behavior on the part of congressional Democrats.”

“You cannot play politics with the security of the American people,” Johnson told reporters. “I am praying that they come to their senses.”

REPS ANDY HARRIS, KEITH SELF, SEN RICK SCOTT: FIX FISA. DON’T SPY ON US

The Section 702 program allows the U.S. government to collect intelligence on foreigners abroad who are using U.S. communication systems. The spy law also allows the government to sweep up the messages of Americans when communicating with foreign suspects, provoking the ire of privacy hawks in both parties.

The program is credited with thwarting a terrorist attack on a Taylor Swift concert in Austria in 2024, as well as gathering intelligence used to identify and eliminate a prominent Mexican cartel leader and providing information used to intercept shipments of fentanyl precursors from China. 

Congress passed two consecutive short-term extensions of the law earlier this year, but has yet to strike a deal on a multi-year fix.

Some Democrats have argued Republicans’ warnings are political theater and have pointed to an intelligence court ruling that recertified Section 702 through March 2027.

“Existing law allows Section 702 collection to continue under an order from the FISA court for another year, even without congressional reauthorization,” Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said Wednesday. “Congress can and must take the time to get this right.”

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But GOP lawmakers warned that allowing the government’s warrantless surveillance powers to sunset entails substantial risk, including potential legal challenges.

“If this authority lapses starting on Saturday, we move into uncharted territory,” Crawford said Wednesday. “The implications get worse every single day.”

“While the 702 database would remain available to search, the data in that database will become increasingly out of date, with the potential of provider noncompliance with orders, litigation by providers or outside groups, and even reticence by agency personnel to continue implementing an expired authority for fear of personal liability,” he added.