NationalWatch

Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch is sounding the alarm on the steep decline in civic literacy in classrooms across the United States — a trend Gorsuch said ultimately prompted him to co-author a new children’s book with the aim of educating the next generation about America’s founding principles.

Speaking to Fox News Digital in a recent interview, Gorsuch said his new book, “Heroes of 1776: The Story of the Declaration,” was created to address the steep decline in civic education and history in the U.S. among both school-aged children and adults.

“Only about 13% of kids today in eighth grade are proficient in American history — [and just] 22% in civics,” Gorsuch told Fox News Digital. “Six out of 10 adults would fail our citizenship test.

Those numbers, he said, reflect a “deeply” concerning reality and were ultimately what inspired the book’s creation.

AMERICAN STUDENTS’ LACK OF BASIC CIVICS KNOWLEDGE ALARMS EDUCATION ADVOCATES

“That’s how [my co-author] hooked me,” Gorsuch said, referring to Janie Nitze, his former clerk and co-author.

“She says, ‘You have been complaining about the state of civic education in this country for a long time,'” Gorsuch said. “She’s right. … So, it’s time to do something about it, I figured.”

Gorsuch has long sought to improve the state of civic education programs for young people in the U.S. — a goal that predates his nomination as a Supreme Court justice.

He recently told Fox News Sunday that the new book took “a lot of inspiration” from former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who famously founded a civics education nonprofit after stepping down from the bench.

“As she was leaving the court, she reflected that civic education in this country is a problem,” Gorsuch said of O’Connor’s work. “And for a lot of reasons, it’s simply not being taught anymore.” 

“So I do think we have a big problem, because we are a creedal nation, again, not based on race or religion, but based on an idea, three great ideas, I think,” he said. “And if you don’t know what they are, the history and the people that made them possible, how can you possibly carry them on?”

JUSTICE GORSUCH HIGHLIGHTS HUMANITY, HISTORY IN CHILDREN’S BOOK CELEBRATING AMERICA’S 250TH ANNIVERSARY

Gorsuch noted in 2019 that just one-third of Americans could name all three branches of government — a concerning decline, he said, given that the three branches interact and crucially “check” one another against unmitigated overreach.

Without this separation of powers, Gorsuch said at the time, promises of freedom “are just words on a page.”

“What Madison knew is that people are not angels,” he told Fox & Friends. “And that we need to separate powers that keep us free.”

Now, he’s hoping to bring that message to a younger audience.

Gorsuch said their goal in writing the book — which features striking, hand-painted illustrations alongside stories of well-known revolutionaries and young people during the Revolutionary War — was to inspire children by highlighting the role they played in shaping the nation, 250 years ago.

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“Young people have been remarkable contributors to our country throughout history,” Gorsuch said, listing teenagers named in the book, who participated in the war directly, or as spies.

 “We wanted to inspire young people. That was a huge part of it,” Gorsuch said.

He stressed that civic education is not a partisan issue on the high court — adding that in fact, the issue is one that unifies all nine Supreme Court justices, regardless of their ideology.

“If you polled the nine of us in our conference room,” Gorsuch said of the justices, “one thing we could all agree on is the importance of learning American history.”

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“Because how else are you going to carry this thing forward? Somebody has to run the zoo,” he said.

Political critics of Supreme Court decisions fundamentally do not understand the role of the institution, according to Chief Justice John Roberts.

It is to interpret the law, not make it, he told a judicial conference in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

“I think, at a very basic level, people think we’re making policy decisions, we’re saying we think this is how things should be, as opposed to what the law provides,” Roberts said Wednesday night. “I think they view us as purely political actors, which I don’t think is an accurate understanding of what we do.”

The decision reviewing the unconstitutionality of race-based gerrymandering under the Voting Rights Act has resurfaced rebukes of the political ideology of the Court. Three conservative justices, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, were placed on the bench by President Donald Trump during his first term, giving Republican-nominated justices a 6-3 majority.

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Justices, however, are making decisions based on the law and contextual readings of the Constitution, not their personal policy preferences, Roberts stressed to the conference of judges and lawyers from the 3rd U.S. Circuit in Pennsylvania.

“I think considered criticism is a very good thing,” Roberts said. “You hope it’s intelligent criticism, but it doesn’t have to be. It’s a free country and I certainly don’t object to it, and I don’t think my colleagues do either.”

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The Supreme Court has also expanded gun rights and overturned the constitutional right to abortion in recent years. Public confidence in the Supreme Court was at a low of 40% after the 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization abortion ruling, showing the politics of rulings determines perception as the words of the Constitution remain unchanged.

The rulings are “based on our best effort to figure out what the Constitution means and how it applies” to the existing law, Roberts said.

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“We’re not simply part of the political process, and there’s a reason for that, and I’m not sure people grasp that as much as is appropriate,” Roberts said, stressing that “one thing we have to do is make decisions that are unpopular.”

“On the other hand,” Roberts said, “there is a point where it changes from criticism of the opinion to criticism of the judge and it can lead to some very serious problems.”

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Heated political rhetoric, potentially fueled by violent protest groups, can endanger judges.

In June 2022, an armed suspect was caught outside Kavanaugh’s home. Nicholas John Roske pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 97 months in prison and lifetime supervised release after admitting to the attempted assassination.

“There’s a lot of hostility that’s publicized about judicial decisions and which judge wrote those decisions,” Roberts warned. “I think we have to be a little more careful and make sure people, to the extent you can, are more careful about that.”

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Judges bowing to the pressures of political ideology from the American public would have devastating effects, according to Roberts.

“If you do it cavalierly, overrule precedent just because you think it’s wrong, then the whole system begins to suffer,” he said.

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The advanced ages of Thomas and Alito have raised questions of whether they might consider retirement either before the midterms — which could change Congress’ ability to get through another conservative justice nominee under Trump — or before 2028, where a flip of the White House and/or Congress could shift the court back away from a conservative majority.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The University of Oregon caved to student demands after infusing a new ICE alert into the university’s campus-wide emergency alert system, which took effect Wednesday.

An April 30 email to students from Associate Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Students Jimmy Howard said that the university’s official campus-wide alert system will be allowed to be used for an alert system, which utilizes campus police and other university resources, to warn students about any nearby activity from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers.

The decision follows Oregon House Bill (H.B.) 4709, passed in February and signed by the governor in April, which required public K-12 schools and higher education institutions to designate a system to notify students of federal immigration presence. However, the deadline to set that system up was not until the end of September and students complained that the system needed to be set up sooner.

“As requested by our campus community and required by Oregon House Bill 4079, we are implementing a notification system in the event of immigration enforcement activity on campus,” Howard’s email stated, which was shared with Fox News Digital by students at an independent campus publication that first covered the story, The Daily Emerald.

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The university sent Fox News Digital a statement pointing out H.B. 4079 was signed into law by Democratic Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek on April 9, less than a month prior, after making its way through the state legislature, which has both a Democratic House and Senate majority.

A day later, student groups, including the school’s chapter of Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and the University of Oregon Anti-ICE Coalition, delivered a petition to the Office of the President demanding the ICE alert system be instituted ahead of the mandatory September deadline.

Fox News Digital inquired with university spokespeople about why the alert system was being implemented so far in advance of the deadline, and whether any other alternative systems were considered. 

“The University of Oregon already uses its emergency alert system to inform the campus community of certain law enforcement activity on campus as well as other concerns (e.g., server outages, motor vehicle crashes, etc.), and we have done so for years,” a university spokesperson responded. “It’s important for students and employees to be aware of law enforcement activity on campus so they do not unintentionally interrupt it while moving through campus to get to class.”

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The current ICE alert system will use the same University of Oregon Alert system, according to the campus-wide email obtained by Fox News Digital, which includes getting verification from the Office of the General Counsel, university police, and Safety and Risk Services before sending out alerts. Extra personnel are also designated for other campuses tied to the University of Oregon system.

“The University of Oregon follows all federal and state laws,” the university said in a formal statement sent to Fox News Digital. “In compliance with the new state law, the University of Oregon created the required policy, which clarifies the conditions that would warrant such notice and the method of communication. Any notice issued under the new policy will follow state guidelines and will not include personally identifiable information that cannot be disclosed. Notice will not be sent for routine federal activity, such as visa status checks.”

The new alert system follows pressure from campus organizers, including the school’s DSA chapter, and incidents of ICE activity on campus as early as November 2025.

“(The Sept. deadline) leaves a pretty big gap in protection for students. People are going to be here for the next couple weeks and even over the summer, so there is obviously a big gap in security,” a member of the University of Oregon Anti-ICE coalition said, according to The Daily Emerald, which has covered the student pressure.

“We’ve seen UO’s lack of response and its insistence that we be compliant with the federal administration. And we don’t agree with it. We think it’s unsafe,” another student organizer told The Daily Emerald in mid-February. “We think that we’re better than that, we have the resources to protect ourselves. So we’re here to make a point about that and keep the pressure up.”

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In March, Fox News Digital reported that the University of Oregon also recently announced it would begin offering abortion pills to its students beginning in the fall, once again, following pressure from students.

 In February, The Daily Emerald reported that the University of Oregon’s DSA chapter “has been campaigning for campus abortion access for the past three years but has made it a major focus since this fall,” including by making abortion pill access among its top campaign priorities.

Fox News Digital’s Rachel del Guidice contributed to this report.

China has ordered companies to disregard U.S. sanctions targeting Iranian oil, forcing a direct test of Washington’s ability to enforce its crackdown on Iran. 

A new directive, issued through China’s Commerce Ministry Sunday, invokes a 2021 “blocking statute” that prohibits firms from complying with foreign sanctions deemed illegitimate. The order applies to several Chinese refiners accused by the United States of purchasing Iranian crude, including major independent processors known as “teapot” refineries.

The move represents a shift from years of opaque workarounds to more explicit state-backed resistance, as Beijing signals it will not cooperate with U.S. efforts to cut off a key source of revenue for Iran.

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“This is unprecedented. It’s a major escalation in terms of China’s response to U.S. economic statecraft. It is a measure of defiance by Beijing,” said Max Meizlish, a senior research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

The escalation comes as the Trump administration intensifies its sanctions campaign, targeting Chinese refiners and warning financial institutions they could face penalties for facilitating oil transactions between Iran and China.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has accused Beijing of effectively financing Iran’s military activity through its oil purchases, arguing that Chinese demand is sustaining Tehran’s economy.

“China, let’s see them step up with some diplomacy and get the Iranians to open the strait,” Bessent said in a Fox News interview Monday.

“Iran is the largest state sponsor of terrorism … China has been buying 90 percent of their energy, so they are funding the largest state sponsor of terrorism,” he added.

China remains the primary destination for Iranian crude, with much of the country’s sanctioned oil exports flowing to Chinese refiners despite mounting U.S. pressure.

“It’s putting firms in China in the position where they either comply with the CCP order or the U.S. order and either way there could be consequences,” Meizlish said.

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The issue is expected to be a major point of contention at an upcoming meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

At the same time, diplomacy is accelerating. 

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Beijing Wednesday for talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, underscoring China’s growing role as both Iran’s primary oil customer and a key diplomatic interlocutor.

Despite mounting sanctions and a U.S. naval blockade aimed at restricting Iran’s oil exports, shipments have continued through increasingly opaque maritime networks. Data from maritime intelligence firm Windward shows a surge in vessels operating without tracking signals, with the majority of ships in the Strait of Hormuz recently going “dark,” making enforcement significantly more difficult.

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In one recent snapshot, 146 of 167 vessels in the area were not transmitting location data, according to the report.

Windward analysts also identified continued covert loading activity at Iran’s main export hub at Kharg Island, including large crude carriers operating without tracking signals despite heightened enforcement pressure.

“I don’t expect this is going to necessarily change much by way of how China has helped facilitate Iranian sanctions evasion,” Meizlish said.

Those flows have largely been sustained by demand from Chinese refiners, particularly smaller independent operators that often operate outside the U.S. financial system and are more insulated from sanctions pressure.

“This is really a clear attempt by Beijing to put the ball back in the U.S.’ court and see if it’s going to actually act,” Meizlish added.

Beijing’s decision to formally instruct companies not to comply with U.S. sanctions adds a new layer of risk for global firms. The blocking statute allows Chinese companies to seek damages in domestic courts from banks, insurers, or shipping companies that cut ties in order to comply with U.S. measures.

Analysts say the move could force multinational firms into a difficult position, weighing access to the Chinese market against the risk of being cut off from the U.S. financial system.

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“There’s no more important enabler to Iran than China,” Meizlish said.

The standoff highlights a broader challenge for Washington: while sanctions remain a central tool of U.S. foreign policy, enforcing them against major economies like China, especially when transactions can be conducted outside the dollar system, is far more difficult.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Chinese embassy in Washington for comment. 

Nathaniel Sanders II, 32, is facing federal charges after allegedly threatening to kill President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and former Attorney General Pam Bondi, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida announced Tuesday.

Sanders, who appeared in federal court Monday, allegedly sent numerous social media posts between January and April that threatened to kill the three leaders.

Sanders allegedly threatened to bomb the White House and mentioned first lady Melania Trump in social media posts while referencing the fact that he owned a gun, according to a criminal complaint filed in the Southern District of Florida.

“Imma bomb the (expletive) White House,” he posted on X, according to the complaint.

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“I don’t know what to do Melania, like, all I got is a gun. It’s the only thing I can use now is a gun,” Sanders said in a video posted to Instagram, per the complaint.

Another video allegedly targeted Rubio. “Like when I get my hands on him, I’m gonna hurt him. Simple as that,” Sanders said.

“Threats against public officials are not political speech,” U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones said in a statement.

SUSPECT WITH LENGTHY RAP SHEET ARRESTED FOR ALLEGED PAM BONDI ‘MURDER-FOR-HIRE’ SCHEME: FBI

“They are serious federal crimes that endanger public safety and the rule of law. The complaint alleges that this defendant repeatedly threatened to assassinate the President of the United States and other senior officials,” he added. “Those allegations will now be tested in court. Our Office will continue working with the U.S. Secret Service and our law enforcement partners to investigate threats, protect public officials, and ensure that those who violate federal law are held accountable.”

The U.S. attorney’s office charged Sanders with threatening the president of the United States and transmitting threats in interstate commerce. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison.

Investigations into his threats involve the U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Capitol Police, U.S. Diplomatic Security Service and Miami Beach Police Department.

“Making threats against the President of the United States is a federal crime, and we treat it with the seriousness it deserves every time,” Special Agent in Charge Michael Townsend of the U.S. Secret Service, Miami Field Office also said.

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“It does not matter where the threat is made or what platform is used, our agents will identify you, investigate you, and work alongside our federal and local partners to bring charges when appropriate. We remain relentless in our mission to protect the President and to act swiftly against anyone who puts others at risk.”

Sanders’ arrest was the result of a protected intelligence investigation which highlighted the efficacy of the Secret Service to identify threats “before they can make a plan,” a Secret Service spokesperson told Fox News Digital.

Fox News Digital contacted the U.S. Attorney for Florida’s Southern District for additional comment.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio previewed a high-profile trip to Rome from the White House briefing room Tuesday, delivering sharp warnings to Iran and flashing easy command of the podium that drew praise from conservative allies online.

“The trip is really not tied to anything other than the fact that it would be normal for us to engage, and other secretaries of State have done that in the past,” Rubio said at the White House press conference on Tuesday of his trip to Italy. 

The briefing came two days before Rubio is set to visit the Vatican and Italy for meetings amid heightened tensions between President Donald Trump, Pope Leo and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni over the U.S.-Iran conflict. Rubio used the briefing to defend the administration’s posture toward Tehran, downplay the timing of the Italy visit and signal that Washington is not backing off its pressure campaign.

RUBIO TO VISIT ITALY, VATICAN AMID TROOP DRAWDOWN CALL, TENSION WITH TRUMP, POPE LEO: REPORTS

“The message to Iran … these guys are facing real catastrophic destruction to their economy, generational destruction to their economy, generational destruction to the wealth of their country imposed on themselves by the actions that they’re taking,” said Rubio of Iran on Tuesday. 

“They should check themselves before they wreck themselves in the direction that they’re going,” Rubio quipped, referencing Ice Cube’s rap song, “Check Yo Self.” 

Rubio, a Catholic, is expected to meet with Pope Leo on Thursday morning, at a time when the pontiff has criticized the Trump administration’s Middle East peacemaking efforts.

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“There has also been this threat against the entire people of Iran, and this is truly unacceptable,” the pope said in April. “There are certainly issues of international law here, but even more so a moral issue for the good of the whole entire population.”

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The comments were seemingly in reference to one of Trump’s Truth Social posts, where he wrote, “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will… God Bless the Great People of Iran!”

Trump told reporters on Wednesday in the Oval Office he only has one message for the Pope.

“I can tell you this, that as far as the Pope is concerned, and it’s very simple. Whether I make him happy or I don’t make him happy, Iran can not have a nuclear weapon. And he seemed to be saying that they can. And I say they cannot, because if that happened, the entire world would be hostage. And we’re not going to let that happen,” he said.

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Rubio will also meet with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who has been distancing herself from the U.S. amid mounting domestic and political pressure over the widening Middle East conflict.

The meeting comes as President Donald Trump intensifies pressure on NATO allies to align with the U.S. against Iran, including ordering the withdrawal of 5,000 troops from Germany — a drawdown expected to unfold over the next six to 12 months.

Meloni said Tuesday she would not support any effort to reduce the U.S. military presence in Italy, drawing a contrast with Trump’s broader push to reposition American forces in Europe.

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Italy remains a key U.S. security hub in Europe, hosting nearly 13,000 active-duty American troops across six bases as of the end of 2025.

Rubio heads to his high-profile meetings fresh off of social media commenters and conservative leaders applauding how well he stepped in for Karoline Leavitt behind the podium after she took maternity leave late last month. The secretary joked with reporters, fielded questions in multiple languages and delivered pointed warnings to Iran, giving supporters a glimpse of the presence he will likely carry into the Rome trip.

“Marco Rubio is showing the nation & the world what we’ve known about him for decades,” said Republican Florida Rep. Carlos Gimenez on X. “Rubio is one of the most eloquent, articulate, & incredibly capable statesmen of our times.” 

“President Trump made an EXCELLENT choice in him. He proves it every single day,” he added.

Former Rep. Katie Porter, a Democratic candidate in California’s crowded gubernatorial primary, is facing backlash after saying illegal immigrants are driving population growth in the state, a claim long advanced by Republicans.

“The job of the California governor is to protect every single Californian,” Porter said after being asked if she would work with federal authorities to deport illegal immigrants at Tuesday’s California gubernatorial debate. 

“The sanctuary state policy is designed to make sure that our state resources — the taxpayer dollars, the public servants that we have — are focusing on doing their jobs, which is not cooperating with the federal immigration authorities.

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“These are Californians. They contribute to our economy. They pay taxes. And they’re one of the only ways that our state has been growing in recent years,” Porter said of illegal immigrants.

Gunther Eagleman, a popular right-wing X account, accused Porter of saying “the quiet part out loud” by stating that illegal immigrants have mitigated population decline in California.

“Katie Porter accidentally admits out loud that Californians are fleeing California and are being replaced by imported illegals,” conservative influencer account LibsofTikTok posted on X. 

Republicans, including President Donald Trump, have accused Democrats of resisting efforts to deport illegal immigrants because it could cost them seats in the House of Representatives. Illegal immigrants counted by the Census help determine the total number of House seats a given state is entitled to when the chamber is reapportioned every ten years.

“So she’s saying Cali has too many seats in the House?” another X user said in response to Porter’s comment.

While Trump and others have attempted to add a citizenship question to the Census in an effort to remove noncitizens from calculations determining the number of House seats each state has, the Constitution does not mention citizenship status in relation to congressional apportionment.

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“California is cooked: Katie Porter says criminal illegal aliens are ‘one of the only ways California has been growing in recent years,” Republican communications operative Steve Guest wrote on X. 

“Democrats have been in total control of [California] for the past 16 years.”

An estimated 400,000 illegal immigrants entered California from 2021 to 2023, according to the Public Policy Institute of California. Between July 2021 and July 2023, California’s overall population grew by just under 20,000, per data published by the California Department of Finance.

“Thats because all the billionaires, millionaires big business and anyone that can afford it is leaving [California] faster than you pouring a pot of boiling hot potatoes on your ex partners head,” one X account wrote, responding to Porter and alluding to an allegation of domestic violence against the gubernatorial candidate.

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California saw a net population loss of 215,542 from domestic migration in 2025, compared to a net gain of 125,473 from foreign migration that same year, according to the state’s Department of Finance. Migration out of California has cost the state billions of dollars per year in tax revenue, according to California’s Legislative Analyst’s Office.

Other critics seized on Porter’s assertion that illegal immigrants benefit California’s economy.

“If you think the best way to promote economic growth involves letting in illegal aliens, you’re doing it wrong,” Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, wrote. 

California’s illegal immigrants paid roughly $8.5 billion in state and local taxes during 2022, according to an estimate from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Conservative critics argue that illegal immigrants consume more than that in public services, such as education and subsidized healthcare, though the costs of such things are difficult to quantify.

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Some studies, including a report recently published by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, have also found that illegal immigration causes the cost of living to go up by increasing demand for housing. 

“I contained myself well, I think,” Sheriff Chad Bianco, one of the two Republicans who participated in the gubernatorial debate, chimed in. 

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is out of the ICU but will continue to spend time in the hospital before being discharged, according to a spokesperson for the former politician.

“The mayor and his family appreciate the outpouring of love and prayers sent his way,” Ted Goodman, a political strategist who launched a livestream program with Giuliani, said in an update posted to social media on Wednesday.

“Mayor Giuliani—the man who took down the Mafia, saved New York City, and ran toward the towers on September 11th—is the same fighter he’s always been, and he’s winning this fight,” he continued.

Goodman added that the “power of prayer is working” and the former mayor “feels it,” encouraging people to keep them coming.

RUDY GIULIANI’S PRIMARY CARE PROVIDER GIVES UPDATE ON HIS CONDITION

Giuliani, 81, was hospitalized in critical but stable condition on Sunday because of severe breathing issues.

On Monday, Giuliani’s doctor, Maria Ryan, told Fox News correspondent Danamarie McNicholl that he began feeling ill after returning from a trip to Paris, with his breathing deteriorating to the point that he required hospitalization and was placed on a ventilator.

Ryan said his condition turned critical, prompting a priest to be called to his bedside to perform last rites.

But by Tuesday, his condition had improved enough for doctors to remove him from the ventilator. He is now breathing independently and able to speak.

RUDY GIULIANI HOSPITALIZED IN CRITICAL BUT STABLE CONDITION: ‘HE’S FIGHTING’

Ryan said she expects Giuliani to make a full recovery.

“He’s a fighter — the way he was yesterday in such a critical condition, he did have a priest come anoint him,” Ryan said. “And all the prayers from around — it’s like a miracle. This guy’s got 9 lives, today he’s doing much better.”

Giuliani has faced a number of health challenges in recent years but has remained active in public life.

Earlier this week, Goodman noted Giuliani’s health history following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, when he was exposed to debris while responding at Ground Zero, later leading to a diagnosis of restrictive airway disease.

He had also been seriously injured in a car crash in New Hampshire in August of last year, leaving him with a fractured thoracic vertebra, multiple lacerations and other injuries.

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President Donald Trump said after learning of Giuliani’s hospitalization on Sunday that he was the “Best Mayor” in New York City’s history.

“Our fabulous Rudy Giuliani, a True Warrior, and the Best Mayor in the History of New York City, BY FAR, has been hospitalized, and is in critical condition,” Trump said, in part.

Fox News’ Greg Wehner contributed to this report.

The White House called former President Barack Obama “a classless moron” suffering from “a severe and debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome” after Obama launched a thinly veiled criticism at President Donald Trump by saying a president should not direct the attorney general to prosecute individuals.

“He is a total disgrace for all the division he has sowed upon this country, and history will not judge him well,” White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said of the former president. “The only special interest guiding the Trump Administration’s decision-making is the best interest of the American people. Only pathetic trainwrecks like Stephen Colbert would waste their time interviewing one of the worst presidents in history on his failing show.”

Obama made the remark during an interview with “The Late Show” host Stephen Colbert, who asked what restrictions should be placed on presidential power. Obama’s Tuesday appearance comes during the show’s final weeks.

“The White House shouldn’t be able to direct the attorney general to go around prosecuting whoever the president wants prosecuted,” Obama said. “The idea is that the attorney general is the people’s lawyer, it’s not the president’s consiglieri.”

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“You can’t have a situation in which whoever’s in charge of the government starts using that to go after the political enemies and reward their friends, right?” Obama continued.

Obama discussed his relationship with Attorney General Eric Holder, who served in his administration for six years. He said he consulted with Holder regularly, but only on “broader policy issues.”

“That’s different than who do you charge, what case do you bring,” Obama said.

Trump supporters on social media criticized Obama’s comments, pointing to previous remarks by Holder describing their close relationship. In a 2013 radio interview with Tom Joyner, Holder described himself as Obama’s “wingman” when answering a question about his plans to leave the administration.

OBAMA SAYS MOTIVE UNCLEAR DESPITE MANIFESTO OUTLINING ALLEGED TARGETS IN WHCD SHOOTING

“I’m still enjoying what I’m doing, there’s still work to be done. I’m still the president’s wingman, so I’m there with my boy. So we’ll see,” Holder said.

During Holder’s tenure as attorney general, he was held in contempt by the House for failing to produce documents related to an investigation into Operation Fast and Furious, an operation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives that led to Mexican drug cartels gaining access to illegal guns. Holder has previously faced scrutiny for opting against seeking criminal prosecution, but he was never accused of pursuing criminal charges on Obama’s behalf.

Obama’s remarks come as acting Attorney General Todd Blanche indicted former FBI Director James Comey for allegedly threatening the president’s life based on an Instagram post showing a seashell formation spelling out “86-47,” a reference to removing Trump from office. The latest charges follow the dismissal of charges brought against Comey by the Justice Department last year.

TRUMP PRESSED ON WHETHER HE ORDERED DOJ TO TARGET JAMES COMEY, JOHN BOLTON, LETITIA JAMES

Aside from Comey, several of Trump’s other political foes have been indicted, including former national security advisor John Bolton and New York Attorney General Letitia James. The Justice Department had also opened criminal investigations into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook.

Trump posted a message on Truth Social in September directly addressed to former Attorney General Pam Bondi requesting that she prosecute several of his political foes.

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“Pam: I have reviewed over 30 statements and posts saying that, essentially, ‘same old story as last time, all talk, no action. Nothing is being done,” Trump wrote. “What about Comey, Adam ‘Shifty’ Schiff, Leticia??? They’re all guilty as hell, but nothing is going to be done.”

Congressional Democrats hammered Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick for lying about his ties to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein after he admitted his relationship with Epstein lasted longer than he previously disclosed.

Lutnick participated in a voluntary closed-door interview with the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday to answer questions about Epstein as part of the panel’s probe into the disgraced financier.

“I feel very comfortable saying that Howard Lutnick is a pathological liar,” Rep. Yassamin Ansari, D-Ariz., said when she left the room in the middle of the Capitol Hill testimony to give reporters an update.

She claimed the Trump official is complicit in “the most egregious cover-up in American history.”

HOWARD LUTNICK FORCED TO FACE JEFFREY EPSTEIN TIES DURING HOUSE OVERSIGHT HEARING

Democratic lawmakers, who have seized on the Epstein saga after largely ignoring it under former President Joe Biden, accused Lutnick of stonewalling their questions during their sit-down.

“If Donald Trump had seen the video transcript, he would have fired Howard Lutnick,” Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., insisted. “He’s lost all credibility, and really it’s a shame that the American people don’t get to see what he did there — total lack of truth and lack of honesty.”

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., accused Democrats of lying about Lutnick’s testimony, which he characterized as “very forthcoming” — thought admitted he was not “100% truthful” in the past.

“The only cover-up that I’ve seen on the Oversight Committee is the cover-up of the Democrats trying to cover up our investigations of the Metro Police Department lying about crime statistics, and the cover-up of the Minnesota fraud by Tim Walz and Keith Ellison and the cover-up of the hospice fraud in California,” Comer said, referring to several active probes under his purview.

Lutnick answered nearly 400 questions from lawmakers and their staff during the hours-long interview and the sit-down ended when their inquiries had been exhausted, a spokesperson for the Department of Commerce said Wednesday

“He explained repeatedly that three encounters do not constitute a relationship,” the spokesperson said. “The committee adjourned without identifying any evidence to the contrary.”

Lutnick told the panel that he never saw Epstein with young women or witnessed anything inappropriate with young women during the three times they met, a source familiar told Fox News Digital.

Lutnick did not respond to reporters’ questions outside the Oversight Committee room on Wednesday.

HOWARD LUTNICK SHUTS DOWN DEM QUESTIONS OVER JEFFREY EPSTEIN AT BUDGET HEARING

Democrats in Congress have argued that Lutnick’s acknowledgment of a brief lunch visit to Epstein’s Caribbean island in 2012 with his wife, children and nannies after previously claiming he cut off ties seven years earlier undermines his credibility.

Lutnick told the New York Post last year that he had no contact with Epstein after 2005, when he and his wife had a brief meeting in the disgraced financier’s apartment and saw the massage table.

However, Epstein files that were released this year showed that Lutnick’s relationship with Epstein extended well beyond that. The commerce secretary told the House panel that his short visit to Epstein’s island was “unsettling” because he did not know how Epstein’s assistant knew that he and his family were vacationing in the U.S. Virgin Islands at the time.

The two were next-door neighbors from 2005 until 2019, when Epstein died by suicide in a New York correctional center after being indicted on federal sex trafficking charges. 

Comer acknowledged Wednesday that Lutnick withheld information about the 2012 lunch with Epstein, but argued that his credibility is up to Americans to decide.

“I haven’t seen wrongdoing in the email correspondence, but he wasn’t 100% truthful with whether or not he had been on the island,” Comer told reporters.

“We’re going to ask him all these questions, and we’ll let the American people judge whether the credibility was damaged or not,” he added.

The Trump administration has largely stood by Lutnick amid calls for his resignation from Democrats and a handful of Republicans, including Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky.

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Comer also said his unprecedented invitation to invite Lutnick, a Cabinet secretary, to appear before the committee shows the bipartisan nature of the Epstein probe.

“There’s never been a chairman bring in Cabinet secretaries of their own party,” he told Fox News. “We have Pam Bondi coming in in a couple of weeks. So, I think people can see that this is a bipartisan investigation. We’re really sincerely trying to get the truth. Our goal is to provide justice for the victims and, hopefully, today will be helpful.”

Former Attorney General Pam Bondi is scheduled for a transcribed interview with the committee on May 29. Tech billionaire Bill Gates is slated to testify on June 10.

A Democratic lawmaker is drawing backlash after saying she spoke with foreign ambassadors about getting oil to Cuba despite U.S. sanctions, defending the outreach as “literally our right and responsibility.”

Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., made the remarks during a recent Seattle briefing following a congressional delegation trip to Cuba, where she discussed the island’s worsening fuel shortages and U.S. policy toward the communist regime.

“I was in conversations with the ambassadors from Mexico and some other places … trying to figure out how to get oil there,” Jayapal said during the briefing, calling the situation on the island “a crisis beyond imagination.”

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Jayapal said the event was part of a broader briefing on the humanitarian situation in Cuba following her recent visit.

“As many of you know, I traveled to Cuba as part of a congressional delegation last month,” she said. “It is part of my role to see how U.S. foreign policy is actually affecting the people in the countries where that policy is being implemented.”

PAIR OF DEMOCRAT LAWMAKERS SLAM ‘BLOCKADE OF FUEL’ TO CUBA, ‘ECONOMIC BOMBING’ AFTER VISIT TO ISLAND

She said she met with Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, senior government officials, political dissidents, civil society groups and foreign diplomats during the trip.

Video of the remarks circulated widely on X, where users criticized the progressive lawmaker’s comments and raised legal concerns.

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Conservative accounts amplified the clip, including End Wokeness, which claimed she was “conspiring against the U.S.” and suggested her actions could constitute a federal felony. Libs of TikTok wrote that her actions “seems a little like treason to me.”

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Social media users also pointed to potential legal implications. “Traitor. She should be prosecuted,” wrote “The Charlie Kirk Show” executive producer Andrew Kolvet on X.

Those claims are political commentary and have not been independently verified, and no investigation or charges have been publicly announced.

Jayapal responded to the backlash in a post on X, writing, “Breaking news: Members of Congress meet with ambassadors of other countries every day. That’s literally our right and responsibility.”

Her remarks came as she sharply criticized U.S. sanctions on Cuba, describing them as “economic bombing of the infrastructure.”

“It is illegal. It is against the law,” she said. “This is essentially doing the same thing. It is bombing the infrastructure of Cuba with economic sanctions that essentially ensure that the infrastructure collapses.”

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The controversy has also prompted discussion of the Logan Act, a rarely used federal law that bars unauthorized individuals from negotiating with foreign governments in disputes involving the United States.

Andrew McCarthy, a former federal prosecutor, told Fox News Digital the statute has never resulted in a conviction and has been used only sparingly in U.S. history.

“There has never been a conviction under it — in fact, there have only been two indictments, the last one about 174 years ago,” McCarthy said.

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He added that any potential legal exposure would depend on whether a lawmaker took concrete action that violated U.S. sanctions.

“There would be no criminal case … unless it can be shown that she took some action that violated, or aided and abetted a violation of, the sanctions,” McCarthy said.

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He argued disputes over engagement with foreign governments are more appropriately handled through political accountability rather than criminal law.

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The Trump administration has previously described the Cuban government as a national security concern due to its ties to adversarial countries and actors, including relationships with Iran and alleged links to groups such as Hezbollah. The Cuban government has also faced longstanding criticism over political repression and restrictions on free speech.

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The island’s economic conditions have contributed to a surge in migration, with hundreds of thousands of Cubans arriving in the United States in recent years.

Jayapal, who traveled to Cuba in April with Rep. Jonathan Jackson, D-Ill., has argued U.S. policy is worsening conditions for civilians on the island while also acknowledging concerns with the Cuban government.

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“I do also have criticisms of the Cuban government … In our meetings, I have always raised those,” she said, referencing issues including political prisoners and limits on dissent.

“The Cuban government has sent many signals that this is a new moment for the country,” Jayapal said in a statement following the trip, adding that U.S. restrictions on fuel amount to “cruel collective punishment.”

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She has called for lifting the U.S. embargo and removing Cuba from the State Sponsor of Terrorism list, while backing legislation to block potential U.S. military action against the country.

Fox News Digital has reached out to Jayapal’s office, the White House and the State Department for comment.

Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch spoke out against rising threats targeting judges, breaking his silence on violence against the judiciary in a sit-down interview with Fox News Digital.

Gorsuch’s remarks come amid heightened security concerns for members of the Supreme Court after the 2022 leak of the court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which sparked protests outside justices’ homes and intensified fears about their safety, particularly after the attempted assassination of Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

Gorsuch emphasized that the current environment — marked by increasingly heated public discourse and breaches of court confidentiality — poses broader risks to the institution.

“We have to be able to hear one another,” Gorsuch said. “And violence is never the answer.”

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His remarks come as members of the federal judiciary have faced heightened security risks in recent years, including an assassination attempt targeting Kavanaugh during the lead-up to the Dobbs decision, when the court overturned Roe v. Wade and ended the federal constitutional right to abortion.

On June 8, 2022, Nicholas John Roske, a transgender individual from Simi Valley, California, traveled to Kavanaugh’s Maryland home with a gun and ammunition in a checked suitcase. Authorities later found a gun, tactical knife, zip ties, duct tape, a hammer, crowbar, lock-pick tools and other items in Roske’s belongings, according to the Department of Justice. 

After seeing deputy U.S. Marshals outside the home, Roske walked away and called 911, telling a dispatcher about having homicidal and suicidal thoughts and had come from California to kill a Supreme Court justice.

Before the incident, Roske searched online for information about how to harm people — one search read “Does twisting or dragging a knife cause more damage” — and expressed a desire to affect the outcome of the Dobbs decision. Roske was sentenced to eight years in prison and a lifetime of supervised release for the assassination attempt.

Though Gorsuch stopped short of weighing in directly on specific incidents, he stressed to Fox News Digital that maintaining civil discourse and institutional boundaries are critical to preserving the Supreme Court’s role and the independence of the federal judiciary.

“There’s a balance between transparency and [the] confidentiality in our work, right?” Gorsuch said. “I mean, it’s wonderful, I think, that we have the opportunity for people to listen in to our own arguments. You can listen to every word uttered in arguments from the bench today, in real time.

“At the same time, we also have to be able to talk with one another privately and discuss our views candidly around the conference table.”

Gorsuch suggested these breaches of confidentiality — including the high-profile Dobbs leak, and more recent leaks of confidential Supreme Court memos exchanged by justices in 2016 — risk further eroding public trust in the judiciary.

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“You think about how robust our system is, where everybody, all factions come into making laws,” Gorsuch said. “That makes our decisions wiser than you are ever gonna get in a dictatorship or a monarchy or an oligarchy. They’re much more fragile, aren’t they?”

At the same time, Gorsuch underscored that maintaining boundaries for the court’s internal deliberations is critical, particularly after high-profile leaks.

“There’s a balance between transparency on the one hand … and confidentiality in our deliberations,” he said. “You can read every word I think about a case at the end of the day. … But do we need some confidentiality? Of course.”

He warned that losing that balance could undermine both trust in the court and the ability of justices to engage in candid debate behind closed doors, a practice he noted dates back to the nation’s founding.

“The framers thought it was very important that they lock the doors when they were discussing the Constitution,” Gorsuch said, adding that James Madison later believed there “would have been no Constitution” without that privacy.

Gorsuch tied those concerns to the broader constitutional principle of judicial independence, arguing the judiciary’s role depends on its insulation from political pressure and public backlash.

“Why do we have an independent judiciary?” Gorsuch said. “The framers did not want [judges beholden to political forces]. … They said you have to have independent judges so that when you come to court, no matter how unpopular you are, you’re going to get fair, neutral application of the law.”

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Despite ideological differences among the justices, Gorsuch said there remains a shared respect for the Constitution, a dynamic he suggested is essential in an era of growing polarization.

“When I sit around the table with my colleagues, and we disagree, the one thing I know is that the person across from me loves this country … as much as I do,” he said.

Still, Gorsuch made clear that the tone of public debate — and the rejection of violence — will ultimately shape whether that system endures.

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“We can debate, we can disagree,” he said. “But we have to be able to do it in a way that respects one another.”

Ashley Oliver and Jake Gibson contributed to this report.

A California immigration judge who was terminated by the Trump administration is alleging in a lawsuit against the Department of Justice (DOJ) that she was fired because she is a registered Democrat and because of her affiliations with immigrant-rights groups.

The 14-page lawsuit, filed by Kyra Lilien, names the DOJ and acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche as defendants.

Lilien claims she was not retained past her probationary period because of a number of factors, including being a woman over the age of 40, being fluent in Spanish and her associations with the Hispanic community.

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Kevin Owen of Gilbert Employment Law in Maryland, one of Lilien’s attorneys, told FOX San Francisco that she didn’t fit their mold and that the actions taken against her were impermissible and unlawful.

The lawsuit alleges that her termination violated Lilien’s civil and First Amendment rights.

Lilien was initially appointed to serve at the San Francisco Immigration Court on July 23, 2023, before being transferred to the Concord Immigration Court in February 2024. In total, she served nearly two years, which is the standard probationary period immigration judges serve under Justice Department policy before their appointments are typically converted to permanent roles.

The lawsuit names nearly 30 other immigration judges from around the country who were either fired or not converted from probationary periods, including 14 from the Concord and San Francisco immigration courts.

The filing states that immigration judges who were not converted or were terminated around the same time as the plaintiff were overwhelmingly female. Fox News Digital has reached out to Lilien’s attorney, the DOJ, as well as the DOJ’s Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR).

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Throughout her employment and during her probationary period, Lilien met or exceeded all performance standards, according to the lawsuit.

She received satisfactory assessments — the highest possible rating — in her probationary period reports for fiscal years 2024 and 2025. As a judge, Lilien denied 34% of asylum claims brought before her, according to data from TRAC Immigration.

On July 11, 2025, Lilien received a notice that her probationary period would not be converted permanently, with the message stating that the attorney general had decided not to extend her term or convert it to a permanent appointment pursuant to Article II of the Constitution.

The suit also alleges that Sirce Owen, who was serving as the acting EOIR director at the time, issued controversial memoranda in early 2025 that demonstrated hostility toward immigrant advocacy groups and certain hiring practices.

Owen allegedly characterized these groups in a memo as “extremist leftist organizations” that promote illegal immigration and attempt to undermine immigration courts.

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He also issued another memo criticizing the appointment practices under the Biden administration.

Lilien’s suit states that these memoranda together laid bare management’s hostility toward hiring individuals with immigrants’ rights backgrounds, women, ethnic minorities and others who may be considered “DEI” hires.

HARRISON, Maine — As she runs for a sixth six-year term in the U.S. Senate in left-leaning Maine, Republican Sen. Susan Collins is once again a top target for Democrats.

“I have been the number one target of Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, not only in this campaign, but the last two campaigns as well. I’m always his number one target,” Collins told Fox News Digital in an exclusive national interview this week.

And it’s no different this time around, as Collins seeks re-election in a competitive and high-profile 2026 race that is one of a handful across the country that will likely determine if Republicans keep control of their slim Senate majority.

Facing Collins will likely be military veteran and oyster farmer Graham Platner, the all-but-certain Democratic nominee after two-term Gov. Janet Mills, who was backed by Schumer and the Democratic Party establishment, dropped out of the race last week after significantly trailing Platner in fundraising and polling.

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Platner is supported by progressive champions Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. The first-time candidate advocates an economically populist agenda as he takes aim at corporate influences and advocates for the working class.

Asked if Platner is too far to the left for voters in her northern New England state, Collins said, “I believe that will be the conclusion of Maine voters. But obviously I don’t take anything for granted.”

A Republican group supporting Collins is already blasting Platner in a new ad over controversial comments he made over a decade ago on Reddit about women and rape, and a well-publicized tattoo on his chest that resembled a Nazi symbol.

Among the comments is one from 2013, which Platner later deleted, that people concerned about rape should not “get so f—ed up they wind up having sex with someone they don’t mean to.”

The candidate apologized for his controversial Reddit posts after they made headlines last fall soon after he launched his Senate campaign. Platner has said that he got the skull and crossbones tattoo in 2007 while drinking with fellow Marines stationed in Croatia. He said that he covered up the tattoo with a new design after learning last year that it resembled a Nazi symbol.

Asked if she’ll take aim at Platner over his political baggage, Collins said, “Obviously I’m going to be contrasting my record of achievement and accomplishments with Graham Platner’s approach, which is based in.”

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Collins stopped, before saying, “I don’t want to preview too much of our strategy.”

But the senator added that she’s “hoping that we can have a campaign that is civil, where we discuss issues and accomplishments. That’s my goal.”

Platner, who is running as an outsider, emphasizes that Collins is part of a “broken Washington” and “a generation of politicians who have failed us.”

He has described Collins’ moderate Republican image as a “charade,” highlights her support for some of President Donald Trump’s agenda, and accuses her of being part of a political system that benefits the wealthy. “She and Republican politicians like her have prioritized the interests of billionaires and corporations over people,” he has charged.

Republicans — as the party currently in power in Washington, D.C. — were already up against traditional political headwinds that lead to a loss of congressional seats. Add to that the challenging climate fueled by persistent inflation, rising gas prices tied to what polls show is an unpopular war with Iran and Trump’s underwater approval ratings.

Asked how she can overcome the blame pointed at Republicans over the high cost of living, Collins noted she’s championed the low income heating assistance program, which “helps low income families and seniors stay warm during the cold winter months. I just recently made sure the final tranche of money was released because there is a lot of need in the state of Maine, and the cost of living is high here.”

Collins also emphasized her opposition to cuts “in food stamp benefits and in other programs that are designed for low income families, because I know how important they are.”

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The senator was interviewed at a food bank that expanded thanks to federal funding which Collins helped obtain.

“It is so satisfying to be here today and to know that I played a very small role, but an essential role, in allowing this food bank to expand its community room, its kitchen, and to help it be even more successful,” she touted. “This food bank is extraordinary. It serves more than 1,000 families every week.”

The Democrats’ narrow path to regain control of the Senate flows through Maine, and Collins will once again face an avalanche of attack ads.

Pointing to Schumer, Collins said, “last time he poured into Maine with his affiliated groups, more than $160 million, all in negative ads trashing me and misrepresenting my record. He’s already doing that now.”

But she added that “fortunately, the people of Maine are smart, and they know lies and distortions when they see it.”

The Department of Justice is offering signing bonuses of up to $25,000 to recruit lawyers across the country to bolster legal battles against what one department official described as “lawless jurisdictions.”

New job postings show the high-dollar bonuses are being offered through the DOJ Civil Division components that handle immigration lawsuits and investigations into transgender medical treatments, two of President Donald Trump’s most contentious priorities, and highlight New York City, Raleigh, San Francisco and Dallas.

The hiring push comes as the Civil Division, the DOJ’s most expansive division led by Brett Shumate, continues the resource-intensive task of defending White House policies in court as it faces hundreds of lawsuits, while also drawing scrutiny for employee departures and reported recruiting challenges. 

The new recruitment strategy puts a spotlight on the pressure DOJ is facing to sustain its aggressive legal defense strategy, particularly in blue cities and states that it has accused of undermining federal authority, while also combating narratives that the department is struggling to retain staff.

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A DOJ official told Fox News Digital the hiring effort is not reflective of any internal strain but rather a way for the department to “look broader by enticing attorneys around the country who may not have considered” working for a D.C.-based federal agency.

“The department is expanding resources across the country to combat lawless jurisdictions and nationwide injunctions, and there is a need to attract candidates from those new areas,” the official said, touting that Trump’s signature One Big Beautiful Bill Act gave the DOJ “millions of dollars to hire more attorneys specifically for those efforts.”

The offers come as blue states, civil rights groups and Democrats flood courts across the country with lawsuits challenging Trump’s efforts to shrink and unify the executive branch, crack down on illegal immigration, implement tariffs and tighten policies surrounding election security and transgender people and more. Lower court judges have often stymied the administration’s work. 

The DOJ has chosen on rare occasions to raise the adverse rulings on an emergency basis with the conservative-leaning Supreme Court and won some two dozen cases — which represents a vast majority of the cases — when taking that route.

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The Civil Division, which is in charge of defending the civil lawsuits against the administration, has also been offering incentives to current lawyers, according to Bloomberg Law. The outlet said the division was offering new biweekly bonuses up to $220 through Thanksgiving because lawyers “keep fleeing” and because the division was “growing more desperate to stave off further departures of valuable legal minds” who are uncomfortable with Trump’s priorities.

The DOJ official addressed concerns about an employee exodus in a statement to Fox News Digital, after The Financial Times also reported that more than a quarter of its nearly 13,000 lawyers have quit or been fired since the beginning of last year.

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The official attributed the departures, in part, to employees taking a “fork in the road” resignation option, which the Trump administration rolled out last year with the stated goal of reducing the size of government.

“This has allowed DOJ to run more efficiently and hire new employees who wholeheartedly believe in the work they’re doing,” the official told Fox News Digital.

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Assistant Attorney General Shumate told Fox News Digital in a statement he was “always looking for talented and qualified attorneys to advance President Trump’s priorities and protect the American people.”

“The Civil Division will continue to hire hardworking patriots from across the country and offer appreciation bonuses to our loyal attorneys who remain committed to our mission and upholding the rule of law,” Shumate said.

Every Democrat asked during this week’s California gubernatorial debate said they supported providing healthcare coverage for illegal immigrants, a position they took moments after candidates spent several minutes warning that California’s healthcare system is already too expensive and straining families, businesses and the state budget.

“We had a broken immigration system, and now you want to victimize the people who are working here and making the state run,” Democratic candidate and billionaire businessman Tom Steyer said when asked if he supported giving coverage to illegal immigrants after the current California governor, Gavin Newsom, cut it to help reduce the state’s ballooning deficit.

Former California congresswoman and fellow Democratic candidate for California governor, Katie Porter, was asked point-blank about the cost concerns related to providing illegal immigrants with free healthcare coverage.

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“We can’t afford to have people who are sick, who are making the rest of us sick,” Porter responded to the cost question before her Republican opponent, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, interjected “they shouldn’t be here,” leading Porter to pause and give him a look of bewilderment.

“When anyone doesn’t have care, the rest of us are at risk when people don’t get vaccinations,” Porter continued. “When they don’t go to the doctor, they wind up in the emergency room. They cause longer lines for the rest of us. They make our health care system — they push it to the brink.”

“Immigrants, whether documented or not, work hard. They pay taxes and sometimes they get injured on the job or their children get sick,” former Biden administration Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said when asked if he supported the measure.

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“It would be foolish to tell a family that they don’t have access to the pediatrician or the family doc, or not be able to use the community health center where it wouldn’t cost us so much to give them help access to good health care,” Becerra continued. “Instead, what will happen is that child will get so ill that they will have to take that child to the hospital. And what door do they enter? The most expensive door in the health care system? The emergency room door. Why do that and spend so much money when you can do it up front?”

The remaining Democratic Party candidates on the stage, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, were not directly asked whether they supported providing healthcare to illegal immigrants in the state, nor did they indicate their stances during other portions of the debate that discussed health care.

“The actual way we deal with health care in this state is to at least stop spending $20 billion a year on free health care for illegal immigrants who shouldn’t even be in the country in the first place,” Republican candidate and former Fox News host Steve Hilton said amid debate about how to reform the state’s healthcare system.

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“When are we going to draw the line at any other crime? It’s illegal. They enter the country illegally, we’re not going to incentivize them to come here to take more of the resources that regular Californians aren’t getting,” Bianco added.

Before defending taxpayer-funded healthcare access for illegal immigrants, several of the Democratic candidates were already locked in a fight over who was more committed to government-run healthcare.

Steyer said he supports single payer “absolutely,” while Becerra said California should “try to get to a Medicare for all program.” Porter repeatedly pressed Becerra to be more explicit, asking whether he supported “California having its own state-run single-payer system.”

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But the push for expanded coverage came as candidates also acknowledged the cost problem. Steyer said healthcare is “eating up our budget” and “eating up every single family,” while Villaraigosa warned a state-run single-payer system would carry a roughly $500 billion price tag and require approval from the federal government.

“It’s pie in the sky,” Villaraigosa said.

The Seattle City Council president said she works with two budgets — her district’s and “the Black budget” — and urged Black residents to unite as “the most powerful political party” in Seattle.

Joy Hollingsworth, president of the Seattle City Council and representative of District 3, told attendees at the State of Africatown 2026 conference how she has advocated for the “Black budget” to be reflected in the city’s general budget. 

The public town hall, focused on advancing Seattle’s Black community, was held in late February, but Hollingsworth’s remarks mentioned by Seattle talk show host Jason Rantz.

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“So, I got two budgets every time I go to council member Dan Strauss every year. I have a District 3 budget and then a black budget,” Hollingsworth told the audience.

Hollingsworth’s remarks came just days before Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson ordered city agencies to cut their budgets for next year by 5% to 10%. Seattle is facing a projected budget deficit of $140 million for the 2026 fiscal year.

During the address, Hollingsworth talked about how she assembled roughly 70 Black residents to testify last year on the city’s budget, dubbing it “Black Budget Day.”

“It is important that they see us, that they hear us, that we just don’t show up for certain things that we are down here advocating for us,” Hollingsworth said of Black Budget Day. 

“There are political parties in Seattle, and I believe that if Black people come together, we can be the most powerful political party in the city of Seattle. We have to coalesce our power.”

Rantz invited Hollingsworth on his radio show to explain what she meant by the term “Black budget,” suggesting that whether she meant it as a literal budget or a term used for political branding, it’s still a “problem.”

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“But we’d rightly call out a ‘white budget,'” Rantz wrote. “And it’s worth asking why Hollingsworth doesn’t appear eager to offer other constituencies their own budget. Perhaps she doesn’t care enough about Asians or Latinos?”

Rantz said Hollingsworth canceled the interview with his station, but in a statement to Fox News Digital, Hollingsworth said the Black budget refers to “targeted investments and resources directed toward historically impacted communities in Seattle.”

“This is about addressing long-standing challenges in public safety, infrastructure, small business support, clean and safe parks, roads and sidewalks and workforce development,” Hollingsworth said.

“In Seattle, we need to stay focused on delivering the city basics,” Hollingsworth continued. “That’s what communities across our city are asking for and what they want to see government deliver on every day. We are focused on the fundamentals of local government, safe streets, reliable infrastructure, responsive city services and clean public spaces.”

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Asked what percentage of Seattle’s $8.9 billion budget should be allocated for the “Black budget,” Hollingsworth said in an email, “8.9 billion dollars. The city’s budget.”

President Donald Trump warned nearly a year ago that the District of Columbia may have been reporting “fake crime numbers” when he deployed the National Guard to the nation’s capital.

Now, the Metropolitan Police Department is embroiled in scandal, as 13 officers have been placed on leave, with some already undergoing termination, according to MPD Interim Chief Jeffrey Carroll, as an ongoing probe into alleged manipulation of statistics unfolds.

“Our Internal Affairs Bureau has completed an investigation into crime reporting,” Carroll said. The MPD did not immediately respond to a Tuesday request for comment. “This investigation was reported — it was referred to us earlier this year from the United States Attorney’s Office.”

Senior officials, including an assistant chief and district commander, are among those being scrutinized, according to reports.

DC POLICE ACCUSED OF MANIPULATING CRIME STATS AS FEDERAL PROBE FINDS THOUSANDS OF MISCLASSIFIED CASES

Trump received heavy blowback from District officials and Democratic lawmakers for dispatching the Guard to the area after declaring on Truth Social that “DC gave fake crime numbers in order to create a false illusion of safety.”

Trump claimed that until the Guard arrived, Washington was the least safe city in the U.S. “and perhaps the world.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for further comment, while House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer took credit for the developments leading up to the suspensions.

“These terminations are a direct result of the Oversight Committee’s work exposing dangerous efforts by DC Police leaders to artificially lower crime rates,” Comer, R-Ky., said in a statement.

Meanwhile, several Democrats, including those in the District, have lambasted Trump for his actions.

Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., slammed the White House in August, saying the president’s use of federal law enforcement within her city is a “disproportionate overreaction” and “offensive.”

WHITE HOUSE FIRES BACK AS TRUMP’S USE OF DC POLICE FOR CRIME CRACKDOWN IS PLACED IN THE CROSSHAIRS BY DEMS

Council members on the District Council — where there are no Republicans — called Trump’s behavior off-base and extreme.

District of Columbia District Attorney Brian Schwalb also sued the feds for an “unlawful attempt to take over [MPD]” and the Justice Department’s Home-Rule order to the District in that respect.

Schwalb’s office said in a statement at the time that Trump had no right to supplant then-chief Pamela Smith, with the AG adding that his actions represented a “hostile takeover.”

“The Administration is abusing its limited, temporary authority under the Home Rule Act, infringing on the District’s right to self-governance and putting the safety of DC residents and visitors at risk,” Schwalb said, further calling the move the greatest threat to the District’s “home rule” provisions of self-governance.

In a profane response a month later to the Guard’s presence, Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., declared Congress would never provide consent to Trump’s actions in Washington.

“No f—ing way,” he said in response to a question on extending the National Guard’s tenure.

‘THEY’RE EMBARRASSING US’: NATIONAL GUARD PRESENCE IN DC SPARKS FIERY CAPITOL CLASH

Schumer called Trump’s move an attempted distraction from the Jeffrey Epstein files saga.

Fox News Digital reached out to Schwalb, Holmes-Norton, Schumer, the White House and the MPD for comment.

A representative for Schwalb acknowledged Fox News Digital’s inquiry and said the attorney general’s office would respond soon.

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Meanwhile, the MPD’s union boss welcomed the news, saying his members “warned that this toxic culture of coercion, fear, and corruption left thousands of cases uninvestigated, denied victims justice, gaslit residents, and endangered public safety.”

“Forensic teams were not dispatched, evidence went uncollected, detectives were never notified, and dangerous criminals walked free. All while the public was fed falsified Daily Crime Report (DCR) numbers,” Gregg Pemberton said.

Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro has taken a critical tone toward maverick Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., urging him to “get back to what he was elected to do” as a Democrat.

While speaking on CNN this week, Shapiro, another rumored 2028 Democratic presidential candidate, appeared exasperated about Fetterman amid reports that he is receiving pressure to jump ship on the party.

“Look, I don’t know what Sen. Fetterman is going to do,” he told CNN’s Jake Tapper. “I know that Pennsylvanians voted for a Democrat to represent them in the United States Senate.”

“So, I think he needs to honor that and continue with his service to Pennsylvania, and, hopefully, get back to what he was elected to do and reflect the will of the people,” he added.

KNIVES OUT FOR FETTERMAN: MAVERICK SENATOR JOINS LONG LINE OF DEMS PUNISHED FOR BREAKING FROM LEFT

Fetterman’s relationship with Shapiro has cooled since his election. The senator wrote in his book, “Unfettered,” released last November, that he and Shapiro “no longer speak” with one another. He wrote that the relationship deteriorated into an “ugliness” from which “we have never recovered.”

Fetterman has stirred up significant controversy by backing portions of Trump’s agenda. Notably, Fetterman is one of just six Democratic senators who represent states that President Donald Trump won in the 2024 election.

He was the lone Democrat to vote in favor of advancing Trump’s new pick to lead the Department of Homeland Security, former Sen. Markwayne Mullin. During the prolonged government shutdown fight last year, Fetterman voted with Republicans to reopen the government, explaining his vote was choosing “country over party.”

In 2025, he voted with Republicans about 26 percent of the time, according to Congress Vote Tracker.

This has left many in the Democratic Party frustrated, including Shapiro. On a recent episode of the “Talk Easy” podcast with Sam Fragoso, Shapiro asserted, “I’ve got no beef with John” but said, “John’s got a lot of questions that I think he needs to answer for the people of Pennsylvania.”

“I think there’s a lot of people who want to know kind of what happened, why he does some of the things he does,” he continued.

In February, Shapiro declined to say whether he will support Fetterman if he seeks re-election in 2028, saying, “I don’t know if he’s running for re-election. I think he needs to decide if he’s running, and then we’ll make a decision from there.”

FETTERMAN BREAKS WITH DEMOCRATS OVER SHUTDOWN, VOWS TO PUT ‘COUNTRY OVER PARTY’

Shapiro is not the only major Democratic leader who has criticized Fetterman in recent months. Democratic National Committee Vice Chair Malcolm Kenyatta slammed Fetterman in April, labeling the senator “a mess.”

“Almost every day now my US Senator comes on this site to attack his constituents and many people who worked hard to elect him. Suggesting that they have ‘derangement syndrome’ for opposing this administration. You’re a mess @JohnFetterman,” Kenyatta wrote in an X post.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has also called out Fetterman over his response to the war in Iran and said on CNN in April that he “knows better.”

This comes as Politico reported Monday that some Republicans were trying to persuade Fetterman to change his party affiliation.

DNC VICE CHAIR ATTACKS DEMOCRATIC SEN. JOHN FETTERMAN: ‘YOU’RE A MESS’

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However, Fetterman told the outlet in an interview, “I’m a Democrat, and I’m staying one.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Fetterman and Shapiro for additional comment.

Fox News Digital’s Lindsay Kornick and Hanna Panreck contributed to this report.

Legal experts are pushing back on skepticism surrounding the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey, arguing the Department of Justice would not have brought the case without meeting key legal thresholds.

“Lots of folks are saying the case is going nowhere, but, way too early to reach that conclusion,” former Democratic U.S. Attorney John Fishwick, who served in Virginia during the Obama administration, said, cautioning against prematurely dismissing the case.

The indictment, brought last month in the Eastern District of North Carolina, alleged Comey, a longtime Trump nemesis, threatened the president and delivered interstate communications containing threats when he posted a photo on Instagram of seashells reading “8647” last year. 

Free speech advocates and leftist critics pushed back against the indictment, accusing the DOJ of infringing on protected speech in the name of prosecuting one of Trump’s top political rivals. Comey, whom Trump fired as FBI director in 2017, has been outspoken against the president and profited off sales from his anti-Trump book, while Trump has said Comey is “guilty as hell” on social media and that he should face criminal charges.

BLANCHE TURNS THE TABLES ON COMEY INDICTMENT CRITICS: ‘REST ASSURED’ CASE GOES BEYOND INSTAGRAM POST

“Comey is out for revenge against Trump and has publicly gone after Trump separately from the seashells,” Fishwick said, adding that Trump also publicly said he perceived the message as a threat.

Prosecutors must prove Comey’s intent and that the message constituted a “true threat,” a high legal bar that has fueled questions about whether the case can succeed, especially in the recent threat environment where Trump has now faced three alleged assassination attempts.

“You prove intent like you always prove intent,” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said on “Meet the Press” this weekend. “You prove intent with witnesses. You prove intent with documents, with materials. … This is not just about a single Instagram post. This is about a body of evidence that the grand jury collected over the series of about 11 months.”

Chad Mizelle, former DOJ chief of staff, told Fox News Digital the legal standard for convicting Comey for threatening the president was high but that the indictment suggested there was underlying evidence.

“I don’t think the department would have secured the indictment without concrete evidence that Comey did knowingly and willfully threaten the president of the United States,” Mizelle said.

Mizelle noted evidence could take many forms, such as nonpublic text messages or emails.

“What was Comey’s intent when he said it?” Mizelle asked. “I suspect DOJ has evidence of that, and I’ll wager it’s not favorable to Comey.”

IN TRYING TO SECURE COMEY INDICTMENT, US PROSECUTORS HAVE SHORT WINDOW — AND A DIFFICULT CASE TO MAKE

The term “86” has been used as slang to get rid of someone or something, often in restaurants for an unavailable item or refused customer. Prosecutors alleged that, paired with “47” — a reference to Donald Trump as the 47th president — Comey’s post amounted to a threat.

Before serving as head of the FBI, Comey was a federal prosecutor and deputy attorney general for the Department of Justice. 

Comey, “more than any American, knows not to make threats and what a threat looks like,” Fishwick said.

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., told Fox News: “This is a very smart guy. He knows what he’s doing. He’s nobody’s fool. … He knew exactly what he was doing, but hey, he’s going to have his day in court.”

The DOJ secured the indictment from a grand jury days after a third alleged assassination attempt on Trump at the annual White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, a point Blanche has drilled down on as evidence that prosecuting threats to the president, regardless of who made them, is a top priority. Fishwick said the political violence would be relevant if the case makes it to trial.

“As background to any trial, jurors in North Carolina will be aware of all the political threats in this country and know that something must be done about it,” Fishwick said.

George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley raised First Amendment concerns, saying if the case rested solely on the image of seashells forming “8647,” it could face significant legal hurdles, arguing the image “is clearly protected speech” absent additional evidence.

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression said “86” could actually mean impeachment and that the charges defied Supreme Court precedent that established the standard for a “true threat.”

“The idea that Comey’s picture of seashells conveyed a serious intent to harm the president is ridiculous,” the group wrote on social media. “The administration should abandon this transparent and unconstitutional attempt to punish a critic.”

FBI DEPUTY DIRECTOR DAN BONGINO: JAMES COMEY ‘BROUGHT SHAME TO THE FBI AGAIN’ WITH ’86 47′ POST

Comey had quickly deleted the post, saying at the time that he did not realize that he had shared something ominous. After the indictment, he said he was “still innocent.”

“I’m still not afraid, and I still believe in the independent federal judiciary, so let’s go,” Comey said.

Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton accused “the left media [of] rushing to the defense of James Comey, pretending it’s about free speech.”

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“You don’t have the right to advocate for the killing of the president,” Fitton said.

Comey’s arraignment is set for May 11 in Greenville. Comey’s lawyer did not comment for this story.