NationalWatch

A House Republican facing a tough re-election fight is moving to impose strict limits on the Iran war, breaking with the Trump administration’s claim that hostilities have ended. 

Rep. Tom Barrett, R-Mich., introduced a resolution Thursday that would authorize the war through the end of July to permanently degrade Iran’s nuclear program, address “imminent threats,” enforce a naval blockade and ensure safe passage of U.S. ships through the Strait of Hormuz.

But the measure would also set stringent guidelines on prolonged military operations by limiting boots on the ground and prohibiting “nation-building” or occupying or seizing Iranian territory.

“Two things have been clear from the very beginning: Iran cannot be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon and the United States of America cannot be dragged into another endless war,” Barrett, an Army veteran who served multiple tours in the Middle East, said. “The commander in chief has the sole authority to lead our troops in wartime, but I’ve lost too many friends on the battlefield to allow that to happen without Congress exercising its constitutional role to clearly define the mission with safeguards and a deadline.”

REPUBLICANS HAND TRUMP THE WHEEL ON IRAN — BUT ONE RED LINE EMERGES

“If we don’t learn from our foreign policy failures of the past, we are bound to repeat them,” he added.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, has also vowed to introduce a similar measure in the upper chamber authorizing the use of military force within strict boundaries, which she has described as a “restraint” on Trump.

Barrett’s measure follows the White House largely shrugging off a 60-day deadline to end the war on Friday by arguing that the ceasefire that began on April 7 effectively stopped the clock on the 1973 War Powers Resolution’s countdown. Under the war powers provision, the administration is required to end hostilities within 60 to 90 days absent congressional approval. 

“For War Powers Resolution purposes, the hostilities that began on Saturday, February 28 have terminated,” a senior administration official told Fox News Digital last week.

“Both parties agreed to a two-week ceasefire on Tuesday, April 7 that has since been extended,” the official continued. “There has been no exchange of fire between U.S. Armed Forces and Iran since Tuesday, April 7.”

A press release issued by Barrett’s office stated that “U.S. military operations are ongoing.”

TRUMP ‘RIGHT TO BE OUTRAGED’ BY EUROPE’S BETRAYAL ON IRAN, SAYS FORMER THATCHER ADVISOR

Secretary of State Marco Rubio argued Tuesday that the 1973 War Powers Resolution is unconstitutional, and the administration was only complying with parts of it out of respect for Congress.

“We comply with it in terms of, like, notification because we want to preserve good relations with Congress,” Rubio told reporters during a news conference. “And we do that.”

Trump has repeatedly extended the ceasefire with Iran as both parties are working with mediators to permanently end the war.

Barrett’s resolution would also allow for an additional 30-day “wind-down period” if the Trump administration intended to extend hostilities past the July 30 deadline.

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The resolution comes as Barrett, a freshman lawmaker representing a Lansing-area district, is facing a potentially bruising re-election bid ahead of November’s midterm elections.

Bridget Brink, the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine under former President Joe Biden, and retired Navy SEAL Matt Maasdam are vying in a crowded Democratic primary to unseat Barrett in the swing seat.

The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates his re-election bid as a “toss-up.”

It is unclear whether Barrett will join Democrats in supporting a war powers resolution that would block military action against Iran absent congressional approval when lawmakers return to Washington next week.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A viral clip of Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivering a hopeful vision for America’s future while answering a question this week at the White House is stoking more buzz about a possible 2028 presidential bid.

Rubio, in his debut performance at a White House briefing, gave an uplifting answer that noted America’s “story of perpetual improvement” when asked about his hope for the country in the years ahead.

Recordings of the Secretary of State’s 53-second answer, including a campaign-style video put out by Rubio’s team, grabbed tons of views on social media.

The frenzy is understandable, as every move and each comment Rubio makes is often seen as a possible prelude to a potential White House run in the race to succeed his boss, term-limited President Donald Trump.

RUBIO GAINS MOMENTUM IN HYPOTHETICAL 2028 GOP PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION RACE AS VANCE REMAINS CLEAR FRONT-RUNNER

Rubio, briefing reporters ahead of his current overseas trip, including Thursday’s meeting with the Pope at the Vatican amid strained relations due to recent critical comments of the U.S.-born pontiff from Trump, said that his “hope for America is what it’s always been. I think it’s the hope I hope we all share. We want it to continue to be the place where anyone from anywhere can achieve anything, where you’re not limited by the circumstances of your birth, by the color of your skin, by your ethnicity, but frankly, it’s a place where you are able to overcome challenges and achieve your full potential.”

“I think that should be the goal of every country in the world, frankly, but I think in the US – we’re not perfect. Our history is not one of perfection, but it’s still better than anybody else’s history,” Rubio said. “And ours is a story of perpetual improvement. Each generation has left the next generation of Americans freer, more prosperous, safer, and that is our goal as well.”

The Secretary of State, who is a devout Catholic, added, “But it is a unique and exceptional country and, as we come upon this 250-year anniversary, I think we have a lot to learn and be proud of in our history. It is one of perpetual and continuous improvement, where each generation has done its part to bring us closer to fulfilling the vision that the founders of this country had upon its founding.”

A clip of the comments grabbed over six million views on X.

Rubio’s team also put out a minute-long vertical video of the soliloquy that included voice-over video of the Secretary of State, Trump, jets flying over the White House, a diverse mix of Americans, the late President Ronald Reagan, the American flag being raised.

The video, on the Secretary of State’s X account, was viewed over three million times and grabbed the attention of some of the biggest names in MAGA world.

Right-wing activist Laura Loomer, who is close to Trump, retweeted the video and said, “Wow! This looks like it could be a launch video for a Presidential campaign. Amazing production quality and vibes.”

Meanwhile, Elon Musk retweeted a separate video of the Rubio comments.

Vice President JD Vance has long been seen as the heir apparent to Trump and his MAGA and America First base. While Vance remains the hypothetical clear frontrunner ahead of the start of the 2028 White House race, which won’t ignite until after this year’s midterm elections, Rubio appears to be on the rise.

WHITE HOUSE RACE UNDERWAY: WITH 2026 LOOMING, BOTH PARTIES ARE ALREADY PLAYING FOR 2028

Thanks to an increase in his responsibilities and public profile, more recently around the U.S. operation in Venezuela and the war against Iran, Rubio has seen speculation and support for a possible presidential bid soar in recent months.

Among the most notable evidence is Rubio’s strong second-place finish in March in the 2028 Republican presidential nomination straw poll at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).

Rubio, who was one of more than a dozen Republican contenders who ran and lost to Trump in the tumultuous 2016 presidential race, grabbed 35% of the vote at CPAC when the straw poll results were announced this past weekend, up from a mere 3% a year earlier.

Vance, who is popular with MAGA and America First groups, finished first at 53%. While the vice president saw his support slightly edge down from 61% last year, Vance’s numbers are higher than anyone else in CPAC presidential straw poll history other than Trump.

Rubio insists he’ll support Vance if the vice president launches a White House campaign.

“If JD Vance runs for president, he’s going to be our nominee, and I’ll be one of the first people to support him,” Rubio told Vanity Fair late last year.

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Vance, who like Rubio has highlighted his Catholic faith, will likely get plenty of chances next month to spotlight his devotion amid the release of his new book, “Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith.”

VANCE IN ‘CATBIRD SEAT’ FOR 2028 GOP PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION, BUT THESE REPUBLICANS MAY ALSO RUN

Partially fueling Rubio’s rise has been Trump, who has lavishly praised his secretary of state.

The president recently declared that Rubio would go down as “the greatest secretary of state in history.”

Trump has also promoted a Vance-Rubio ticket — calling it “unstoppable” a few months ago — but has not said who should be at the top of the ticket.

But the president said last year that Vance is “most likely” his heir apparent. “In all fairness, he’s the vice president,” Trump added.

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And Trump, in an interview on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” last year, called Vance a “fantastic, brilliant guy”

Trump, who has yet to say whom he would endorse in the race for the 2028 Republican presidential nomination, added in that interview, “certainly you would say that somebody’s the V.P., if that person is outstanding, I guess that person would have an advantage.”

A Washington city councilwoman said she would rather fly a pride flag than the American flag while questioning why a local park displays 27 versions of the U.S. flag, some of which she said represent parts of American history that are “not great.”

“To me, a pride flag is way more relatable than an American flag. I would not raise an American flag at my house because I wouldn’t. I wasn’t even born here. But I would raise a pride flag,” said Lynnwood council member Isabel Mata on Monday. “As the most diverse city in all of Snohomish County, I don’t think that I’m the only one.” 

Mata, who identifies as a “queer, neurodivergent writer, advocate, and mindfulness meditation teacher” in her government biography, suggested replacing the flags with commemorative ones in an effort to be more inclusive—while downplaying the symbolism of the American flag. 

Mata has since walked back the remarks, telling Fox News Digital that she was speaking “personally, as a queer woman, about what the pride flag means to me.”

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At the heart of the argument is Wilcox Park, known as “Flag Park,” which features 27 flagpoles displaying various versions of the American flag. 

“This community is filled with so many beautiful cultures and diverse backgrounds and all of these things, yet we have 27 iterations of the same flag, some representing parts of American history that, frankly, are not great,” said Mata.

The comment set off an outpouring of critical reactions on social media as clips of her remarks spread like wildfire online this week.

“Lynwood, Washington City Councilwoman Isabel Mata says the LGBTQ flag is more relatable than the American Flag and she would never fly an American Flag,” popular conservative X account Libs of TikTok posted. 

“‘I wasn’t even born here.’ Then shut up,” Fox News contributor and New York Post columnist Miranda Devine posted. 

Others posted, “WA cooked,” “wow” or asked “If you hate America that much, then why are you still here?” in response to the remarks. 

Mata walked back her comments when asked by Fox News Digital about her dismissal of the symbolism behind the American flag. 

SCHUMER PUSHES BILL TO GIVE PRIDE FLAG SAME STATUS AS US, MILITARY FLAGS

“I apologize for the way I expressed myself, and I mean that sincerely. The American flag represents the sacrifices of veterans and military families, and the promise that drew immigrants like me to this country,” said Mata. “I should have honored that more carefully in my remarks, and I did not. I have deep respect for everyone who has served under that flag.”

SCHUMER PUSHES BILL TO GIVE PRIDE FLAG SAME STATUS AS US, MILITARY FLAGS

She added that her comments “were not a formal policy proposal,” but to raise “a broader question about how Lynnwood, the most diverse city in Snohomish County, might find additional ways to reflect its community.”

“I believe there is room, in a city as diverse as Lynnwood, to celebrate the many cultures, identities, and communities that make it great, alongside the American flag, not instead of it. Any formal changes to public spaces would go through a proper public process with full community input. That is how it should work,” she added. 

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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., introduced legislation in February that would make a pride flag a congressionally authorized flag.

The designation would give the Pride flag protections similar to those afforded to the U.S. flag, military flags and other flags recognized by Congress.

President Donald Trump accused House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., of inciting the most recent assassination attempt against him, further escalating his feud with the top Democrat.

Trump argued in a Truth Social post on Thursday that Jeffries should be arrested after promoting “warfare” against Republicans just days before the assassination scare at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in April.

“This lunatic, Hakeem “Low IQ” Jeffries, should be charged with INCITING VIOLENCE!” Trump wrote on social media.

He included images of Jeffries standing with a sign displaying the words “maximum warfare” and the faces of Trump and his aide James Blair alongside an image “three days later” of alleged assassin Cole Allen storming the Secret Service checkpoint at the Washington Hilton.

HAKEEM JEFFRIES DOUBLES DOWN ON ‘MAXIMUM WARFARE’ RHETORIC, TELLS CRITICS ‘I DON’T GIVE A DAMN’

“Should Hakeem Jeffries be charged with inciting violence?” Trump’s post asked his 12.6 million followers to ponder.

A spokesperson for Jeffries referred Fox News Digital to a social media post where the top Democrat labeled Trump’s comments as “another deranged rant” and dinged the president on affordability. 

“Gas prices are sky high, grocery bills are surging and families can’t catch a break,” he wrote on X. “Democrats are about to take back the House and you’re losing your mind.”

JEFFRIES LAUNCHES NEW YORK GERRYMANDER PUSH AFTER REDISTRICTING CLASH WITH DESANTIS

The online skirmish came after Jeffries already defended his “maximum warfare” language amid GOP backlash in late April.

“I don’t give a damn about your criticism,” he told Republicans.

Jeffries also justified his decision to use the phrase when discussing the nationwide redistricting battle by arguing that an anonymous White House staffer first deployed the phrase to threaten Democrats with GOP-friendly gerrymanders during an interview with The New York Times last year.

“That phrase ‘maximum warfare everywhere, all the time’ came from the White House in the summer of 2025, when they started this redistricting battle, and now they’re big mad,” Jeffries said at a news conference. “Why? Because Democrats have decided to finish it. Get lost.” 

Jeffries has consistently said that he opposes all forms of political violence, while refusing to walk back his fiery language.

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He told “Fox News Sunday” last month that lawmakers “set the most appropriate example” in their rhetoric, when asked about the rise in political violence.

“Whatever your ideological perspective is, we all love America, and we all want to make sure that this country is the best that it can possibly be,” Jeffries said.

A powerful Virginia Democratic lawmaker’s online jab at President Donald Trump that “no one is above the law” is coming back to haunt her after her office and a business she co-owns were raided by the FBI Wednesday.

State Sen. L. Louise Lucas, a major power broker in Virginia politics and ally of Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger, is known for hot takes, often laced with vulgar language, that she frequently posts on social media. In 2023, she posted that then-former President “Donald Trump just learned no is above the law!”

Now, her post is garnering new attention following the news of the FBI raids, with X users pointing the finger back at her.

Popular conservative account Libs of TikTok posted, “Louise Lucas just learned no one is above the law!”

A TALE OF TWO INDICTMENTS: TOP DEMS SAY ‘NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW’ ON TRUMP, BUT DECRY COMEY CASE

Caroline Wren, a political operative and former Trump fundraiser, referenced another post of Lucas’ from 2022, in which the Democrat wrote, “I want to see voters showing the kind of overwhelming numbers at the polls that the FBI showed today at Mar a Lago!” Wren wrote, “This aged well.”

Lucas’ office and weed dispensary business were raided Wednesday as part of a court-authorized federal corruption and illegal marijuana sale probe, federal law enforcement sources told Fox News. In total, 10 locations associated with Lucas were raided by the FBI.

This, too, drew mockery from Lucas’ critics, who pointed to her “Ten f—– one” slogan, referring to Virginia’s recently passed redistricting map that favors Democrats in 10 of the state’s congressional districts, likely leaving only one Republican district.

Former Virginia legislator Nick Freitas posted, “@SenLouiseLucas: ‘10 to f-ing 1’ FBI: ‘How about 10 to f-ing life.’”

Arlington County GOP Chair Matthew Hurtt posted on X, “Louise Lucas asked [a] Fox News reporter where else the FBI was raiding. Apparently, 10 locations. There’s a TEN F—IN’ ONE joke in there somewhere.”

Talk radio host Erick Erickson, meanwhile, predicted that “no wagons will be circled for Louise Lucas because the VA Dems have known for a while.”

DHS UNLOADS ON ‘SANCTUARY CALAMITY’ VIRGINIA AFTER ILLEGAL ALIEN ACCUSED OF HEINOUS CRIME RELEASED: ‘SICKO’

Lucas was not universally reviled in response to the raids. Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, who bears no relation to the Virginia Democrat, posted on his personal X account, “They need to leave Louise Lucas alone.”

Virginia House Speaker Don Scott, a Democrat, also released a statement on Wednesday in which he said he is “deeply concerned by today’s FBI raid.”

“Given the politicization of this administration — an FBI led by Kash Patel and a Justice Department run by President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney — I think people should take this with a grain of salt and allow the facts to come out before jumping to a conclusion,” he wrote.

Notably, a federal law enforcement source familiar with the case clarified that the corruption probe was opened by the FBI during the Biden administration.

Virginia Republican Delegate Tim Anderson, who was previously sued by Lucas for defamation in a case that was ultimately thrown out, also responded. Anderson wrote, “What they have or don’t have on Senator Lucas will be something for the courts to work through if the DOJ initiates criminal charges.”

SPANBERGER REFUSES TO HONOR ICE DETAINER IN MURDER CASE, ESCALATING SHOWDOWN WITH TRUMP DHS

A spokesperson for Spanberger told Fox News Digital that the governor “is aware of today’s law enforcement operation in Portsmouth.” The spokesperson added that “in the absence of additional details, the governor will not be commenting on a federal investigation at this time.”

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Virginia Democratic Attorney General Jay Jones, who has faced his own share of controversy over violent text messages he previously sent, also weighed in. Jones said in a statement that “we simply do not have sufficient information about the reported FBI activity in Portsmouth. However, several previous actions of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia have undermined public confidence in that office.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Lucas for comment.

FIRST ON FOX: A pair of House lawmakers are seeking a major change to the Secret Service after heightened scrutiny following the third assassination attempt against President Donald Trump in April. 

Reps. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., and Russell Fry, R-S.C., introduced legislation Thursday that would transfer the Secret Service from DHS supervision and make the agency a direct report to the White House.

The measure is part of a broader package of bipartisan reforms that Moskowitz, a former emergency management director, is unveiling to reform the sprawling department that has come under frequent criticism for bureaucratic dysfunction. His legislative package would also make FEMA an independent cabinet-level agency and move TSA under the jurisdiction of the Department of Transportation. 

The goal, Moskowitz said, is to cut red tape at DHS that impedes its subagencies’ ability to function — an observation he saw up close as a member of the congressional task force investigating the first assassination attempt against Trump in Butler, Pa.

TRUMP BUTLER RALLY SECRET SERVICE TEAM FAILED MULTIPLE BASIC PROTOCOLS BEFORE ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT, DOCS REVEAL

“Going to Butler, talking to Secret Service, is when I realized, well, the Secret Service is suffering the same problems that FEMA is suffering,” Moskowitz said in an interview with Fox News Digital. “Because they were such a small agency, they couldn’t get the resources they needed. They couldn’t get decisions being made.”

“These pieces of legislation would streamline all three of those agencies,” Moskowitz added. “It would cut a lot of the bureaucracy we’re getting at DHS.”

Moskowitz, who was present at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, where the Secret Service subdued the alleged shooter, said the assassination scare reinforced the need to make the agency directly accountable to the president and provide agents with “more resources, not less.” 

Fry, who is co-leading the bill, said the measure would better allow the Secret Service to fulfill its responsibility of protecting the president.

“In a time where political attacks are becoming increasingly rampant, the Secret Service should be able to focus solely on its mission of protecting top U.S. officials — not dealing with bureaucratic tape that ultimately serves as a distraction to keeping the president safe,” Fry said.

WITNESSES RECOUNT CHAOS AT WHCA DINNER AFTER SHOOTING, SECRET SERVICE AGENTS DREW GUNS TO EVACUATE TRUMP

Moskowitz’s DHS reform package comes after the embattled department endured a record-breaking funding lapse that concluded in late April after lasting for 76 days. The Florida lawmaker repeatedly joined Democrats against full-year DHS spending bills, but supported funding the department’s non-immigration functions.

If Moskowitz’s reform package was signed into law, the TSA, Secret Service and FEMA would likely be shielded from another prolonged DHS funding lapse.

More than 1,000 TSA agents quit during the shutdown, leading to long security lines at major airports and a spike in missed flights for passengers.

“I don’t think the American people should have their lives interrupted at the airport because of the dysfunction in Washington,” Moskowitz told Fox News Digital.

He also argued that TSA would function better if it was transferred out of DHS.

“The idea that the Department of Transportation, they have the FAA that keeps our skies safe, but then Homeland keeps the people safe in the airport … we should put things under one roof,” Moskowitz said. “I’m trying to unify keeping people safe in the air and safe on the ground when flying.”

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Moskowitz’s previous efforts to make FEMA a cabinet-level agency have stalled in committee.

The Florida lawmaker, however, said he has talked with members of the Trump administration about reforms to DHS and believes there is extensive bipartisan support for overhauling the department.

“The question is, are we able to function and actually do something like this anymore?” Moskowitz said. “Or are we just only able to fund the agencies now and can’t do any reform?”

Moskowitz is partnering with Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., on the FEMA reform measure and co-leading the TSA transfer bill with Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn.

He told Fox News Digital that he is planning to seek re-election in the new GOP-leaning 25th Congressional District, following Florida Republicans passing an aggressive gerrymandered map that carved up his Democratic seat last week.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and the DHS before publication.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Pope Leo at the Vatican for “constructive” conversations on Thursday following heightened tensions between President Donald Trump and the pontiff over the U.S.-Iran conflict.

“The conversations today were friendly and constructive,” a State Department official told Fox News Digital.

Rubio, a Catholic, held a private meeting with the pope to reaffirm the Vatican-U.S. partnership early on Thursday morning. Trump said he sent Rubio to deliver what he described as a “very simple” message: Iran must not obtain a nuclear weapon.

Rubio and Leo discussed the situation in the Middle East and “topics of mutual interest in the Western Hemisphere,” according to a State Department readout.

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

“The meeting underscored the strong relationship between the United States and the Holy See and their shared commitment to promoting peace and human dignity,” said spokesperson Tommy Pigott in a statement.

The meeting marked the Trump administration’s first engagement with the pontiff in nearly a year following tension.

POPE LEO CALLS OUT TRUMP’S IRAN RHETORIC BEFORE LAST-MINUTE CEASEFIRE EMERGES

The pope has criticized the war with Iran by casting the conflict as a moral issue, warning that rhetoric targeting Iran’s population crosses a dangerous line.

“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.”

POPE LEO SLAMS THOSE WHO ‘MANIPULATE RELIGION’ FOR MILITARY OR POLITICAL GAIN, TRUMP RESPONDS

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 has taken an aggressive approach to his messaging with Iran and told reporters on Wednesday 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 cannot 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.

Following his meeting with the pope, Rubio met with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, secretary of state of the Holy See, to discuss shared priorities related to the conflict with Iran.

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“They reviewed ongoing humanitarian efforts in the Western Hemisphere and efforts to achieve a durable peace in the Middle East. The discussion reflected the enduring partnership between the United States and the Holy See in advancing religious freedom,” said Pigott in a readout.

Rubio is set to meet with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Friday.

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.

BARRETT SAYS JUSTICES ‘WEAR BLACK, NOT RED OR BLUE’ IN RESPONSE TO PARTISAN CRITICS IN FOX NEWS INTERVIEW

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.”

FOX NEWS POLL: APPROVAL OF SCOTUS AT 5-YEAR HIGH, REBOUNDING FROM RECORD LOW IN 2024

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.

SUPREME COURT’S 2026 RULINGS COULD DEFINE AMERICA FOR DECADES TO COME

“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.”

JUSTICE NEIL GORSUCH BREAKS SILENCE ON VIOLENT THREATS AGAINST JUDICIARY, SUPREME COURT LEAKS

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.”

TRUMP REVEALS HE HAS MULTI-PICK SCOTUS PLAN READY AS RETIREMENT SPECULATION HEATS UP

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.

UNIVERSITY OF OREGON TO OFFER ABORTION PILLS ON CAMPUS THIS FALL AFTER STUDENT PRESSURE CAMPAIGN

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.”

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA STUDENTS RAIL AGAINST COLLEGE LEADERSHIP OVER WISHY-WASHY STAND ON ICE

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.

US TARGETS CHINA REFINERY IN SWEEPING IRAN OIL CRACKDOWN, SANCTIONS ‘SHADOW FLEET’ TANKERS

“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.

TRUMP DELAYS XI MEETING AS IRAN CONFLICT LETS US STRONG-ARM CHINA’S OIL SUPPLY

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.

IRAN SHIFTS 20M BARRELS THROUGH ‘DARK’ OFFSHORE OIL NETWORK BYPASSING US PORT BLOCKADE, FIRM SAYS

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.

FAA EMPLOYEE CHARGED WITH ALLEGEDLY THREATENING TO KILL PRESIDENT TRUMP IN EMAIL TO WHITE HOUSE

“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.

RUBIO OVERHAULING ‘BLOATED’ STATE DEPARTMENT IN SWEEPING REFORM

“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.”

RUBIO’S TRUMP ADMIN JUGGLING ACT GROWS AS MEME-WORTHY ROLE LIST BECOMES REALITY

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.

TRUMP MEETS WITH ITALIAN PM GIORGIA MELONI AT HIS MAR-A-LAGO RESORT

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.

KATIE PORTER INTERVIEW GOES VIRAL AS JOURNALISTS MARVEL AT DEMOCRAT’S MELTDOWN 

“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.

NEW POLL REVEALS MAJORITY OF CALIFORNIANS OPPOSE THIS KEY BENEFIT FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

“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.

SKYROCKETING HEALTHCARE BUDGET FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS HAUNTS BLUE STATE TAXPAYERS 

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.”

OBAMA LAUGHS AS HE HINTS COLBERT COULD PERFORM BETTER THAN TRUMP AS PRESIDENT, SAYS ‘BAR HAS CHANGED’

“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.”

REP. JAYAPAL DEFENDS COMMENT CALLING ICE ‘A TERRORIST FORCE,’ SAYS WHITE HOUSE ‘OWES AN APOLOGY’ TO AMERICANS

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.”

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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.