NationalWatch

War Secretary Pete Hegseth forcefully denied allegations that he or others may have profited from the war with Iran during a heated Senate exchange Thursday, telling Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., that “no one owns me” as she pressed him on what she said was suspicious trading activity tied to the conflict.

Warren pointed to what she described as a pattern of large, well-timed oil trades occurring minutes before public announcements by President Donald Trump related to the war, suggesting the possibility that insiders were using nonpublic information to profit.

The exchange reflects growing scrutiny in Washington over whether sensitive information tied to the Iran conflict could be used for financial gain, as well as broader concerns about ethics rules governing senior officials and lawmakers.

“In just the space of minutes, it looks like insiders have been making out like bandits, using secret information about the war,” Warren said.

She pressed Hegseth repeatedly on whether he had any explanation for the activity “other than insider trading.”

Hegseth declined to engage directly with the premise, saying the department had operated “completely aboveboard” and emphasizing that his focus remained on military operations rather than financial markets. He added that safeguarding sensitive information is taken “very seriously.”

“What happens in markets … is not something we’re involved in,” Hegseth said.

The exchange escalated when Warren referenced reporting about Hegseth’s own financial dealings, including a claim that a broker attempted to invest in a defense-related fund ahead of the conflict.

“That entire story is false,” Hegseth responded. “Any insinuation that I have ever profited … I don’t do it for money. I don’t do it for profit. I don’t do it for stocks.”

He added: “No one owns me. No one owns this department, no one owns this president.”

Warren’s line of questioning follows recent reporting that raised questions about Hegseth’s financial dealings ahead of the Iran conflict. The Financial Times reported that a broker working on Hegseth’s behalf contacted BlackRock in February about making a multimillion-dollar investment in a fund tied to major defense contractors, including Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, in the weeks before military action began.

According to the report, the investment ultimately did not take place because the fund was not available to the broker at the time.

The Pentagon has strongly denied the reporting, calling it “entirely false and fabricated,” and Hegseth reiterated that denial during Thursday’s hearing.

Federal law places strict limits on defense officials’ investments to prevent conflicts of interest. Presidential appointees at the Pentagon generally are barred from owning or buying stock in top defense contractors that receive the largest government contracts, with narrow exceptions such as diversified funds. Ethics rules also require senior officials to avoid even the appearance of self-dealing and to disclose or seek approval for certain financial activity.

Warren’s comments come amid a recent high-profile case involving a U.S. service member accused of profiting from nonpublic military information.

Federal prosecutors charged Army Special Forces Master Sgt. Gannon Ken Van Dyke with using classified intelligence about a covert operation to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro to place bets on a prediction market, allegedly earning more than $400,000.

Authorities allege Van Dyke was involved in planning the operation and used that knowledge to wager on its outcome before it became public, prompting charges including wire fraud and unlawful use of government information.

Critics have pointed to a perceived double standard, noting that while a U.S. service member faces potential prison time for insider trading, enforcement of similar rules governing members of Congress historically has been less aggressive.

“This man is facing decades in prison,” Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., told Fox News’ Ingraham Angle Saturday. “Meanwhile, every single day on Capitol Hill, there are many members of Congress on both sides that are currently engaging in insider trading.”

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Trump weighed in Saturday, comparing the case to baseball legend Pete Rose.

“That’s a little like Pete Rose,” Trump said when asked about the case. “Pete Rose, they kept him out of the Hall of Fame for betting on his own team. Now, if he bet against his team, that would be no good, but he bet on his own team. I’ll look into it.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Warren and Hegseth for comment. 

A Democratic Senate hopeful in Michigan reportedly deleted thousands of social media posts, including one disparaging the middle-American communities she is asking voters to elect her to represent.

Mallory McMorrow, who indicates in her 2025 autobiography that she “relocated permanently” from the Los Angeles-area to Michigan in 2014, shared in the deleted posts about dreaming that the elite coasts would annex themselves from middle America. In the now-archived posts, McMorrow also mused about how she wished she “never left California” and said there were days since moving to Michigan “that make me miss California even more.”

Meanwhile, McMorrow described herself in 2016, after she claimed to have relocated to Michigan, as a constituent of Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu, repeatedly referenced voting in California’s June 2016 Democratic Primary and urged other voters to do the same. McMorrow referenced voting in person in November 2014 in the Los Angeles area as well, even though in 2024 she chided someone on social media who said they voted in a state they no longer lived in.

In total, McMorrow deleted roughly 6,000 social media posts, according to CNN’s K-File investigative unit, which reported that the posts appeared to have been deleted in 2025 following New York Post reporting on several of McMorrow’s social media comments, including the one about dreaming that fly-over country would annex itself from the coasts.

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In addition to appearing to bash the part of the country she seeks to represent, McMorrow’s deleted tweets covered a variety of other topics, including Trump, whose governing style she compared to Nazi Germany and Adolf Hitler, according to a review of the now-archived posts.

A spokesperson for McMorrow’s campaign, Hannah Lindow, suggested the social media posts exposed in K-File’s Wednesday report were light-hearted and often jokes. One post included McMorrow complaining about the cold Michigan weather, while another quipped that she was “pushing for a future without cars” in response to a thread about Uber drivers.

“These are normal tweets by a normal person,” Lindow told Fox News Digital. “Normal people complain about the weather. The Michigan sky does in fact sometimes ‘s— ice.’ She stands by that.”

Meanwhile, Lindow pointed to a Democratic strategist who argued “every adult decision Mallory has made” says that she loves Michigan.

MICHIGAN DEMOCRAT WON’T CAUCUS WITH HER ‘DISCONNECTED PARTY’: ‘BETTER OFF BY MYSELF’

“As Michigan’s Senate Majority Whip, Mallory has spent the past eight years fighting and delivering to make people’s lives better: higher wages, universal pre-K, no kid going hungry in schools, comprehensive gun violence prevention laws, and more,” Lindow said. “And she’s tweeted about that too.”

The CNN reporting ignited backlash against McMorrow from conservatives online and Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., who is also running for the Michigan Senate seat. In response to McMorrow’s now-deleted social media posts, she posted a long X thread explaining why she is proud to be a native Michigander, taking a few thinly-veiled shots at McMorrow.

“I’m a born and raised Michigander and damn proud of it. I love everything that makes us Michiganders, from our manufacturing heritage to our lakes and yep, even our accent. That’s why I have pretty thick skin about people making fun of the way I talk or the clothes I wear—because this campaign isn’t about me,” Stevens said. 

“It’s about the amazing people who live in this state. About them having a real champion in the Senate. So what actually ticks me off,” she continued. “Someone who wants that job— representing Michiganders—talking crap about us and our state.”

In a social media post appearing to reference the deleted social media posts, McMorrow’s Democratic primary candidate for U.S. Senate, Abdul El-Sayed, posted a photo of himself pointing to someone off-screen and laughing. The post also included the following caption: “Born in Michigan, hallelujah. Raised in Michigan, hallelujah. Believe cars should exist, hallelujah.”

“The death of a campaign, brought to you by, the campaign,” Chris Gustafson, the Senate Leadership Fund and One Nation spokesperson, posted on X.

“How can McMorrow represent the people that she hates?” the research arm of the Republican National Committee posted on X.

“One of my greatest fears for my home state is the Travese-City-ification of the great Up North,” Parker Thayer, an investigative researcher at the Capital Research Center, posted on X. “Costal libs like Buttigieg and McMorrow have realized how beautiful it is here, and they’ve decided they can tolerate out “backwards” midwestern ways if they balkanize the state.”

“As I’ve told you the ‘elites’ hate your guts if you are culturally in the space between West of the George Washington Bridge and East of the Golden Gate Bridge,” Conservative radio host Andrew Wilkow posted on X

Fox News Digital clarified that McMorrow and her husband made the decision to move from California to Michigan in 2014, but did not vacate their California apartment until 2016. Public records also show McMorrow registered to vote in Michigan in August 2016. In California, the law prohibits non-residents from voting in its elections.

“I had a dream that the U.S. amicably broke off into The Ring (coasts + Can + Mex + parts Mich/Tex) and Middle America,” one of her now-deleted posts from December 2016 stated, according to archived versions reviewed by Fox News Digital. “Oh and The Ring nominated Obama as Prime Minister and everyone was given $1,000 and six months to pick a side.”

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In another Jan. 2017 post, after she was already permanently living in Michigan, McMorrow responded to a social media user that there are days she has in her new home “that make me miss California even more,” according to an archived version reviewed by Fox News Digital.

“California should have its own diplomats” to “make sure we don’t get nuked because of morons from the other side of the country,” the user said, before McMorrow responded: “There are days like these that make me miss California even more.”

In another one of the now-deleted tweets, from November 2016, McMorrow wrote: “I wish I never left California,” in response to another user’s comments about diversity in Detroit.

MICHIGAN GOVERNOR HOPEFUL PRESSED ON PAST SPLC WORK AFTER DOJ INDICTMENT: ‘WHAT DID JOCELYN KNOW?’

McMorrow, besides appearing to bash the part of the country she seeks to represent, also deleted other tweets on a variety of topics that could potentially pose a liability for her candidacy.

For example, some of the deleted posts from McMorrow included comparisons between the United States under Donald Trump’s leadership and Nazi Germany.

“Dr. Seuss, 1941. We’ve been here before, America. #AmericaFirst #NoMuslimBan,” McMorrow posted shortly after Trump began his first term in 2017, alongside a Dr. Seuss cartoon referring to Nazi Germany. In a separate post a few months later, McMorrow responded to someone lamenting they had no faith that the minds of Trump supporters could be changed.

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“Agreed. But how do we fight back? Hitler had supporters. Stalin had supporters. Putin has supporters. No one will change their minds,” McMorrow replied, according to archived versions of the post.

In an Oct. 2020 post, McMorrow also pleaded with her followers to watch a video “that a dear friend created,” which featured a Holocaust survivor drawing parallels between Nazi Germany and Trump’s “authoritarian aspirations.”

The posts from McMorrow, exposed by K-File and the New York Post, stand in stark contrast to remarks on her campaign’s website that indicate “choosing to put roots down” in Michigan “is the best decision I’ve ever made.”

EXCLUSIVE: President Donald Trump was “one door away” from danger at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, a GOP lawmaker said, as he demands answers from the Secret Service over what he described as a major security lapse.

House Homeland Security Committee member Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., who previously investigated security failures at the Butler, Pa., rally where Trump was targeted, said the latest incident raises similar concerns about gaps in Secret Service protection.

Gimenez, who examined the Butler site firsthand, told Fox News Digital that security at the Washington Hilton — where the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner was held and where President Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981 — showed troubling vulnerabilities as well.

Gimenez said things have changed since then in some positive ways, as crowds can’t regularly get as close to a president as John Hinckley Jr. was able to when he attempted to kill the president, reportedly to impress Jodie Foster.

SECRET SERVICE DIRECTOR CURRAN ‘CONFIDENT’ THE AGENCY WILL SOLVE FAILED TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPTS

“Mr. Brady got injured pretty severely — but it was a long time ago and things tend to kind of fade away into history and from memory. So I am not sure [of an apples-to-apples comparison],” he said, pivoting back to examining any “glaring holes” in the security posture at Trump’s event.

“If there were, why, and why weren’t they caught? And who is responsible for that? And does the Secret Service have the training needed in order to account for and to make [adjustments].”

He questioned whether the Secret Service has the training and preplanning needed to prevent similar threats.

Gimenez dismissed any notions that Hilton itself was liable for the breaches, saying that when a president is threatened, the onus falls on his detail.

“It’s not the job of the Hilton hotel to protect the president and so again it all falls on Secret Service,” he said while underlining that the rank-and-file officers are very brave and that they all did their jobs Saturday and stopped suspect Cole Allen quickly with no injuries beyond an agent hit in his vest.

TRUMP SHOOTING TASK FORCE SAYS DHS, SECRET SERVICE HAVEN’T PRODUCED DOCS ON GOLF COURSE INCIDENT

“My question is how did how in the world did that would-be assassin get that far, where he was basically one door away from God knows what. Those are questions that need to be answered.”

Gimenez said that for events such as the WHCA dinner, “you have to account for the what-if,” noting that the USSS may go through hours and days of “boredom” but need to be ready for an instantaneous threat.

“That doesn’t mean you’re going to think of every contingency, but you should be thinking of most and make it very, very difficult for any would-be assassin to get one door away from the president.”

“Those are the concerns I have now – and those are the concerns I had in Butler.”

He said that in both cases there were things that went both right and wrong.

Efforts to stop Allen went right, but allowing someone like him to get all the way to the sub-basement ballroom unfettered went wrong, Gimenez said.

When asked about his Butler special committee and whether a similar panel will be formed now, Gimenez said he’s heard rumblings about such, while reiterating that members of his staff had no problem getting into the various pre-parties without passing magnetometers or additional security, showing there remains a lot to examine.

He said he expects any panel to demand a classified briefing with USSS brass, and give “situational awareness” of the agency’s posture that night.

“It’s frankly rather amazing that we don’t have a facility like that in the White House for state dinners, et cetera, for the most powerful country in the world, right?”

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In that regard, Gimenez said Trump is “ahead of the game” in a lot of areas and that his ballroom plans for the East Wing may have directly mitigated threats posed by using a public hotel in the business district with multiple entrances.

At the same time, he said procedures must be examined to see whether the USSS has fallen into a pattern of “what used to work in the past is good enough for what’s working and what threats are today.”

“We need to get to the bottom of it and see how the Secret Service is adapting to the new threat environment, which changes every single day.”

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After former USSS Director Kimberly Cheatle left the agency following the Butler failures, Gimenez said it will be important to look at what improvements, if any, have been undertaken by the new leadership in the two years since, analyzing their own worthiness.

On the ballroom debate, Gimenez said anyone who examines the plans seriously and apolitically will find that this is exactly the kind of solution needed for such threats.

“Putting my doctor hat on, I will say that the validity to those lawsuits is based on Trump Derangement Syndrome — So [critics] need help, OK… The White House, which is a site of many official functions, and especially state dinners, when we’re bringing in dignitaries and heads of states from around the world, needs a ballroom.”

He said the “temporary tent” set up in the garden is an embarrassment for a first-world country.Fox News Digital reached out to the USSS for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Hannah Brennan contributed to this report.

North Carolina’s discovery of 34,000 dead people on its voter rolls has sparked renewed calls for voter roll cleanup measures, including increased pressure on Congress to pass the SAVE America Act.

After a state election official said the number of dead people found on North Carolina’s voter rolls was “higher than we anticipated,” Republican Rep. Mark Harris of North Carolina called for immediate action to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, commonly known as the SAVE America Act.

“North Carolina confirms 34,000 deceased individuals on our voter rolls,” he wrote in an X post. “This isn’t a mistake—it’s a failure. Election integrity is non-negotiable. Fix it now. Pass the SAVE America Act!”

This discovery has also prompted questions about how many other states have deceased voters still on their rolls. Jason Snead, executive director of Honest Elections Project Action, said he is especially concerned about blue states he believes have been refusing “commonsense” measures to clean up voter rolls.

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Earlier this month, the North Carolina State Board of Elections submitted over 7.3 million voter records to the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database as part of an initiative to strengthen the accuracy and integrity of the state’s voter registration list. Following a comprehensive data comparison with the federal database, the elections board identified approximately 34,000 dead people on the state’s voter rolls.

Sam Hayes, executive director of the State Board of Elections, said in a press release after the discovery, “While we expected to find some cases, this is higher than we anticipated.”

“The benefit of entering into cross-state and federal database checks is that it allows us to uncover issues like this. Our goal is to use every available and legal tool at our disposal to achieve the most accurate voter rolls possible,” he continued. “Now, we must roll up our sleeves and begin the hard work to act of verifying that every person registered to vote in North Carolina is eligible. Our team, along with our state and federal [partners] will do what’s necessary to meet this responsibility.”

The state board said it will work with county boards of elections to remove the deceased individuals from the voter rolls in accordance with state and federal law. 

WATCH: CHAOS ERUPTS AS FLORIDA DEM IN PINK JUMPSUIT GRABS BULLHORN MID-VOTE: ‘IT’S ILLEGAL!’

While North Carolina is collaborating with the federal government and taking steps to clean up its rolls, Snead expressed concern that Democratic-run states are not doing the same.

“Voter list maintenance takes effort from state officials,” he told Fox News Digital.

He called North Carolina “another example of a state doing the work to root out bad registrations using federal records like the SAVE system.”

“But too many Democrat-controlled states are refusing to do the commonsense work of cleaning up bloated voter rolls or stopping ineligible people from registering in the first place,” he said.

“That’s why it’s so important for Congressional Democrats to end their obstruction of the SAVE America Act, a commonsense, popular piece of legislation that keeps it easy to vote and makes it harder to cheat,” he added.

The SAVE America Act would require proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote in federal elections. It mandates states to verify voter rolls using citizenship data, remove ineligible registrants and impose civil and criminal penalties on officials who register voters without required proof.

The legislation is currently stuck in limbo in the Senate. Last week, a cohort of Senate Republicans joined Democrats to sink a late-night attempt to attach a version of the voter ID and citizenship verification legislation to the GOP’s bill funding federal immigration enforcement.

Sens. Thom Tillis, R-N.C.; Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska; Susan Collins, R-Maine; and Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., all voted against a modified version of the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act.

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President Donald Trump has repeatedly pushed for passage of the SAVE America Act. Last month, he vowed not to sign any other bills until it gets through, and said he wouldn’t approve of a “watered down version.”

Last month, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.; Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif.; and Rep. Joe Morelle, D-N.Y., released a statement explaining their opposition to the legislation. The statement posited that the legislation would “disenfranchise up to 21 million citizens who can’t readily access their passports and birth certificates.”

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If enacted, the three asserted the SAVE America Act would be “sowing chaos in state election administration and fueling attacks against hardworking election officials by exposing them to new criminal liability.”

Schumer charged “MAGA Republicans” with “trying to make it harder for Americans to vote.” He asserted that “they know their agenda is failing, so they’re changing the rules.”

Fox News Digital’s Alec Schemmel and Alex Miller contributed to this report.

A bipartisan group of House lawmakers moved Thursday to strip out a controversial pesticide provision from legislation setting U.S. farm and nutrition policy after Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., threatened to “slaughter” the legislation if her measure did not receive a floor vote.

Lawmakers voted 280 to 142 to approve Luna’s amendment, which removed language from the farm bill shielding pesticide manufacturers from legal liability. 

The successful vote could be a sign of the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement’s growing influence over congressional Republicans, who splintered over the issue. Leading MAHA advocates applied public pressure on Republicans to back the amendment, arguing that failing to do so would be a betrayal of the MAHA movement.

73 Republicans backed Luna’s measure, while 142 GOP lawmakers rejected it.

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The provision that lawmakers struck would block lawsuits against pesticide companies for failing to disclose potential health risks as long as they are in compliance with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations on labeling. States and localities would be barred from issuing pesticide labeling guidance that diverges from the EPA. 

“I have a little boy, and the amount of articles I have seen on pesticides and herbicides popping up in children’s products (to include organic) is very bad,” Luna, a MAHA-aligned Republican, wrote on social media earlier this week. “On behalf of all the moms and dads that aren’t in office, I am not going to be bullied into supporting a bill that is providing protections and immunity to corporations that are responsible for giving children and adults cancer.”

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, policy chair of the House Freedom Caucus, also endorsed Luna’s amendment, arguing it would “protect Americans from dangerous pesticides.”

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Republican critics, however, contended that Luna’s amendment would raise costs for consumers if the pesticide provision was stripped from the farm bill. 

“If the EPA says the label is good, I don’t see why every state municipality should have to have another label that would simply raise the price for the American consumer,” Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga., said in opposition to Luna’s measure.

“We’re not talking about the pesticide in the jug as has been misrepresented to the American citizens and especially the MAHA movement,” Scott continued. “We’re talking about just the label on the jug. There is no liability shield for the pesticide in the jug. 

House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn Thompson, R-Pa., also sharply criticized Luna’s measure.

“The arguments on the other side are pretty shallow, and they’re emotional,” Thompson said on the House floor. “They’re not science-based.”

Democrats also widely backed the effort to remove the pesticide provision from the bill.

“Put simply, this language puts chemical company profits over the health of Americans,” Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, said during debate on the House floor. 

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The floor battle over the pesticide provision also comes as the Supreme Court heard oral arguments this week about whether pesticide manufacturers like Bayer, which acquired Monsanto in 2018, should be given legal preemption from failing to warn consumers that its weedkiller product Roundup could cause cancer.

The Trump administration sparked controversy among MAHA advocates earlier this year when it declared domestic production of glyphosate, the main ingredient in Roundup, a national security priority. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an influential MAHA voice, publicly defended the move despite railing against glyphosate for years.

Bayer has repeatedly maintained that its product is safe to use and has not been found to cause cancer.

The Department of Justice’s investigations and prosecutions of Christians during the Biden administration signal that the government discriminated against people based on their faith, according to a sweeping 200-page report released Thursday by the Trump DOJ. 

“The Biden Administration generally tolerated religious beliefs that were privately held but zealously pursued actions to limit Christians’ ability to act in accordance with their faith,” the report found.

The document, released by a DOJ task force, serves as an internal deep dive into concerns critics have already publicly raised surrounding prosecutions of pro-life protesters, investigations into Catholics, the administration’s posture toward religious concerns with COVID-19 vaccines and more. The report contended that the Biden administration showed a pattern of making enforcement choices that de-prioritized religious liberty protections at the expense of Christians.

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“No American should live in fear that the federal government will punish them for their faith,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who chaired the task force, said in a statement. “As our report lays out, the Biden Administration’s actions devastated the lives of many Christian Americans. That devastation ended with President Trump. The Department of Justice will continue to expose bad actors who targeted Christians and work tirelessly to restore religious liberty for all Americans of faith.”

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The report, drafted in response to President Donald Trump’s executive order called Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias, laid out corrective measures the DOJ has taken, including engaging with faith groups, holding hearings featuring alleged victims, shifting law enforcement priorities and revising legal interpretations of court precedents.

Fox News Digital reached out to a Biden representative for comment.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Maine Gov. Janet Mills dropped out of the race for U.S. Senate in her home state on Thursday.

Mills announced the move in a statement posted on X, saying she failed to raise enough funds to support her campaign.  Mills was vying with other Democrats for a chance to challenge Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine.

“While I have the drive and passion, commitment and experience, and above all else – the fight – to continue on, I very simply do not have the one thing that political campaigns unfortunately require today: the financial resources,” Mills wrote.

Mills’ departure leaves political newcomer Graham Platner the front runner in the Democratic primary. Platner has run a deeply controversial campaign, in addition to being the subject of various scandals, including his having a “Totenkopf” Nazi SS tattoo.

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The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) declared Mills’ withdrawal as essentially a coronation for Platner in the Democratic primary.

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“Chuck Schumer and Senate Democrats just coronated a phony who is too extreme for Maine. Susan Collins has always put in the work for her constituents and delivered. Washington Democrats always fall short in Maine and will again, because they just nominated a dishonest radical,” NRSC Chairman Tim Scott said in a statement on Thursday.

Mills had the full backing of the Democratic machine when she entered the Senate race last year, receiving endorsements from Sen. Chuck Schumer, R-N.Y., and prominent Democratic groups.

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Platner, meanwhile, has received backing from Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., as well as Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz.,  and Martin Heinrich, D-N.M.

This is a developing story. Check back soon for updates.

News that a local steel manufacturing company would soon pour $43.4 million into expanding its Michigan-based operations prompted praise from the White House — but not for the state’s Democratic governor.

“Democrats like Gretchen Whitmer spent decades talking about fixing broken trade deals and creating manufacturing jobs here in America for American workers,” Kush Desai, a White House spokesperson, told Fox News Digital, referring to the Michigan governor who is often floated as a potential Democratic candidate for president in 2028.

“President Trump is actually delivering — and he’s delivering with the same agenda of tariffs, deregulation.”

The investment underscores President Donald Trump’s recent restructuring on tariffs for steel, aluminum and copper — even as both parties claimed victory over Michigan’s expanding steel production.

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“Michigan is on the move and open for business, competing for and winning big projects in industries like steel manufacturing,” Whitmer said in a statement.

The investment, made by the Adrian Steel Company, would create at least 40 new jobs as the company expands its existing facilities in the southeast part of the state through a new 112,000-square-foot addition, according to the governor’s office.

The venture is Adrian Steel’s largest expansion since 1953, Whitmer’s office claimed..

“The expansion will enhance Adrian Steel’s manufacturing capabilities with additional space dedicated to raw material storage, cutting, forming, welding, painting, assembly, office functions and shipping operations,” Whitmer’s office said in a press release.

Whitmer’s office said the state had attracted the expansion, in part, through state-level incentives and added that the state will bolster Adrian Steel’s venture through a State Essential Services Assessment (SESA), a kind of tax break for manufacturers that could be worth up to $228,750.

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In the past, Whitmer has criticized Trump’s tariffs, claiming that their overall effect has hindered industry development in Michigan.

“The pain of these increased costs from tariffs has not been offset by any of the promised economic gain,” Whitmer said in a press release earlier this month. “Michigan’s industries have been hit hard, with a recent analysis finding that the tariffs cost U.S. automakers $35 billion last year. Tariffs are estimated to have cost working families $1,000 per year.”

Under Trump’s re-worked tariff framework announced earlier this month, products made almost entirely of aluminum, steel or copper would pay a flat 50% tariff on their full value, while derivatives made only mostly of one of those elements would only pay 25%.

The new parameters also create lower rates for foreign products sourced from American materials and drop the tariffs entirely for products comprised of less than 15% steel, aluminum or copper.

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“This buildout — and the continued health of these vital American industries — is only possible through the continued implementation and strengthening of the President’s Section 232 tariff programs,” the White House said.

Whitmer’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

A federal appeals court declined to take up President Donald Trump’s request to rehear his appeal of the $83 million judgment in the defamation case brought by writer E. Jean Carroll on Wednesday.

Trump had sought a hearing by the full 12-judge Second Circuit Court of Appeals, but a majority of the judges denied Trump’s motion. The development now allows Trump to appeal the case directly to the Supreme Court.

Lawyers for Trump argue he has presidential immunity from Carroll’s accusations.

Trump’s quest for appeals began after a federal jury found that Trump defamed Carroll when he called her a liar for accusing him of sexually abusing her in the 1990s.

TRUMP SHIFTS BATTLEGROUND IN FIGHT AGAINST ‘BRAZEN ELECTION INTERFERENCE’ BY IOWA POLLSTER

If Trump appeals the $83 million case, it would be the second of his contests with E. Jean Carroll to appear before the justices. He also appealed a separate $5 million ruling against him to the court in November 2025.

Carroll, a journalist and advice columnist, sued Trump twice after she released a book in 2019 in which she claimed that he raped her in 1996 in the dressing room of New York City’s Bergdorf Goodman department store across the street from Trump Tower. Trump has repeatedly denied Carroll’s claims and said the case was “a complete con job.” He also said that Carroll was “not my type.”

“I don’t know this woman, have no idea who she is, other than it seems she got a picture of me many years ago, with her husband, shaking my hand on a reception line at a celebrity charity event,” Trump wrote on Truth Social in October 2022.

BBC SAYS IT WILL FIGHT TRUMP’S $10 BILLION LAWSUIT OVER EDITED JAN 6 COMMENTS

Trump’s repeated criticisms of Carroll and denial of her claims led to the journalist’s defamation allegations.

In May 2023, a jury found Trump was not liable for rape but was liable for sexual abuse and defamation. Carroll was awarded a total of $5 million in damages.

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The Supreme Court is currently weighing whether to take up that case.

Fox News’ Rachel Wolf contributed to this report.

Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas has endorsed former Rep. Colin Allred ahead of the candidate’s May Democratic primary runoff against Democratic U.S. Rep. Julie Johnson in the Lone Star State’s 33rd Congressional District.

“Colin has the record, the grit, and the heart to stand up for working families and communities under attack by this administration. He will fight to abolish ICE and go toe to toe with Donald Trump to stop his extreme agenda,” Crockett declared in a statement.

“I’ve seen Colin’s fight firsthand. We worked together to bring hundreds of millions in federal investments to North Texas for affordable housing, health care, and transportation. Colin doesn’t just talk about fighting for the community that raised him. He wins. That’s why I’m proud to stand with him,” Crockett noted.

JASMINE CROCKETT’S SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS ABOUT WHCD SHOOTING SHOW DIFFERENT TONES

Sharing Crockett’s statement of support in a post on X, Allred wrote, “Proud to receive the endorsement of my friend @JasmineForUS. Jasmine has never been afraid to speak truth to power, fight for our communities, and stand up for Texans who deserve better. I’m grateful to have her support in this fight to lower costs, protect our rights, and deliver real leadership for Texas.”

Crockett has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since early 2023.

‘STRAIGHT OUTTA CONGRESS’: TOP PROGRESSIVE CONCEDES RACE AFTER VIRAL MOCKERY FOR ‘EMBARRASSING’ DEFEAT

Last month she lost a Democratic Texas U.S. Senate primary to state Rep. James Talarico.

Allred, who had been running in the Texas Democratic U.S. Senate primary, dropped out of the contest the same day in December that Crockett jumped in.

Allred had endorsed Crockett before she lost that primary race.

DEMOCRAT ADMITS ‘OF COURSE’ JASMINE CROCKETT IS A FACTOR IN HIM DROPPING OUT OF TEXAS SENATE RACE

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“She’s tough. She speaks truth to power. She’s fearless in the face of vitriolic attacks from Donald Trump and the far right. She works day in and day out to protect our fundamental rights and strengthen our democracy. She’s a colleague, and she’s a friend. Her name is Jasmine Crockett. And I’m incredibly proud to be endorsing her in Texas’ U.S. Senate race,” he noted on Substack.

“Shark Tank” star and investor Kevin O’Leary backed President Donald Trump’s push for a White House ballroom as a way to showcase the “American Dream” and serve future administrations of both parties, days after the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting.

“I don’t think the ballroom’s a partisan issue. It’s bipartisan because one day there’ll be a Democratic president that’ll use the ballroom,” O’Leary told Fox News Digital.

The comments come as congressional Republicans push to approve the ballroom following the shooting at the Washington Hilton ballroom during the annual event attended by hundreds of journalists and Cabinet officials. Lawmakers believe this would offer a secure venue for future events.

O’Leary argued the project, opposed by many Democrats, would also elevate the “American brand” on the world stage.

REPUBLICANS EYE PICKING UP $400M TAB FOR TRUMP’S BALLROOM AS SOME DEMS OPEN TO ‘DISCUSS’ IDEA

“I want the ballroom because I believe in pomp and circumstance, the American brand,” he added.

He said the nation’s image is more than just the economy.

“People think it’s exporting technology or exporting energy,” he said. “It’s not. It’s the American dream and so you want to showcase that.”

He added the ballroom would bring this image to life.

“Let’s get that ballroom fired up and show the world the American dream,” he said. “That’s what it is.”

He noted the project would not rely on taxpayer dollars. President Trump said the project would be privately financed through personal contributions and outside donors.

WALZ REPEATS DEBUNKED CLAIM THAT TRUMP CONSIDERS WHITE HOUSE BALLROOM ‘TOP PRIORITY’

“My lobbyist over here said the taxpayers are not paying for it,” he said. “So, then, why not let them have a ballroom? I don’t get it.”

However, Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.; Katie Britt, R-Ala.; and Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., proposed new legislation this week that would fund the project using customs fees on imports to cover the cost.

A lawsuit and court-ordered injunction halted construction of the 90,000-square-foot, $400 million ballroom. A federal court ruled in March that construction must stop without congressional approval, but an appeal allowed limited below-ground construction to continue.

O’Leary addressed Saturday’s shooting, saying it unfolded “at a moment’s notice.”

“No one was hurt, thank goodness,” he said. “I think there’ll be a lot of investigations on that stuff.”

The suspect was identified as Cole Allen, 31, of Torrance, Calif. He is facing charges of attempting to assassinate the president of the United States, transporting a gun across state lines and discharging a gun during a crime of violence.

STEPHEN A SMITH TELLS POLITICIANS, MEDIA TO STOP GIVING ‘LIP SERVICE’ ON CIVILITY AFTER WHCA DINNER SHOOTING

Authorities said the suspect sent a manifesto to family members outlining his intent to target President Trump and other Cabinet officials.

President Trump said at a news conference Saturday night the shooting reinforces the need for a White House ballroom.

“We need the ballroom,” he said. “That’s why the Secret Service, that’s why the military are demanding it. They’ve wanted the ballroom for 150 years for lots of different reasons. But today is a little bit different, because today we need levels of security that probably nobody’s ever seen before.”

O’Leary expressed doubts about the future of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner and raised concerns about securing large-scale events.

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“I also wonder about long-term if that dinner’s going to survive, because providing the security for 2,600 people is next to impossible,” he said.

Fox News Digital’s Adam Pack and Alex Miller contributed to this report.

The leadership of a prominent Arab-American advocacy group active in anti-Israel campus protests is under fire after Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., blasted the group over past sexual harassment allegations, while a former board member says he was ousted after raising harassment concerns with the DC attorney general’s office.

The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), one of the country’s oldest Arab-American civil rights organizations, came under renewed scrutiny after former board member Dr. Ed Hasan filed a formal complaint on April 22 outlining concerns about the organization’s internal handling of allegations.

Tlaib said she was sexually harassed while working for the group early in her career and has accused the organization of failing to properly address the issue, renewing attention to longstanding allegations in a recent video posted to social media. The group has played a visible role in campus protests tied to the Israel-Hamas war, including providing legal support and advocacy for student demonstrators.

BIDEN EDUCATION DEPT PUT PRIORITY ON PRONOUNS, LEFT BACKLOG OF NEARLY 200 ANTISEMITISM COMPLAINTS: OFFICIAL

Hasan, a Georgetown University adjunct lecturer, said he filed a formal derivative demand on April 22 seeking corrective action — including the removal of board leadership — and shared those concerns with the attorney general’s office.

He said he raised concerns about harassment and governance failures and expected an independent investigation, but instead alleged the organization conducted an internal review and removed him from his board position within days, which he described as retaliation.

Hasan also criticized how the review was handled, saying the board investigated the matter internally despite his objections that it should be handled by an independent third party, creating what he described as a conflict of interest.

“A board cannot investigate itself,” he said.

“Since then, additional survivors have shared deeply painful experiences with me, making it clear that these are not isolated incidents but part of a systemic problem,” he added. Fox News Digital has not independently verified those claims.

TRUMP VISA POLICY ‘FAR MORE RESTRAINED’ THAN BIDEN POLICY TARGETING ISRAELIS THAT FLEW UNDER THE RADAR: EXPERT

“In my professional view, meaningful change will require the resignation of the current board and the creation of a community-driven interim transitional board to rebuild trust and safety,” he added.

In a public statement, ADC said it had been reviewing concerns raised “across various platforms” and acknowledged that some allegations reference incidents from more than a decade ago.

“Because we recognize that the passage of time does not erase harm, we reiterate our previous apology sincerely and without reservation,” the organization said.

ADC added that it maintains a “zero-tolerance policy for harassment” and warned against the spread of misinformation, saying it would defend itself against “false claims.”

Tlaib described her experience working at the group’s Michigan office early in her career in a video posted to social media last week.

She said she was sexually harassed while working at the organization and that the alleged misconduct later escalated to involve multiple women, with more than two dozen individuals coming forward with similar accounts.

Tlaib accused the organization of failing to properly address the allegations, saying the individual accused of misconduct “didn’t get fired” and was instead “paid… to just go away.”

She also suggested leadership sought to minimize the issue, saying they “threw it under the rug.”

Tlaib said she spoke out again after discovering the organization was using her image on its website.

“Shame on you for using the image of a victim of your organization and continuation of a toxic work environment. You all haven’t changed,” Tlaib wrote.

“I stand with all of ADC’s survivors who were shamed instead of protected and believed,” she added.

The allegations referenced by Tlaib were publicly reported more than a decade ago, when multiple women came forward with claims of misconduct involving a senior staffer, distinguishing them from Hasan’s more recent governance-related claims.

Other activists have echoed similar criticisms.

Palestinian-American political analyst Omar Baddar, who previously led a regional ADC chapter, said he stood with Tlaib outside an ADC event 13 years ago, demanding accountability over sexual harassment allegations involving a senior staffer. Fox News Digital has not independently verified those claims.

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It is not clear whether any criminal charges were filed in connection with the past allegations.

ADC referred Fox News Digital to a statement posted on its social media accounts when asked for additional comment. Fox News Digital has also reached out to Rep. Rashida Tlaib’s office and the attorney general’s office for comment.

FIRST ON FOX: President Donald Trump’s ‘America First’ immigration overhaul would be codified into law under a House Republican bill that would significantly narrow legal immigration pathways by shifting the system toward high-skilled workers, eliminating most family sponsorship categories and ending the diversity visa lottery.

Immigration — both illegal and legal — remains a contentious topic in Washington, with Democrats pushing to expand pathways for migrants to obtain citizenship, while Trump and his Republican allies are seeking to restrict migration, including proposals such as ending birthright citizenship.

Rep. Barry Moore, R-Ala., introduced the Americans First Immigration Act, which would amend several key provisions in the Immigration and Nationality Act, in an effort to “putting American citizens first.”

“My bill draws a hard line – the days of putting illegals, random diversity lotteries and foreign labor ahead of American workers are over,” Moore said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Our immigration system should serve the American people, not undercut them, and that means selecting individuals who will strengthen our economy, respect our laws, and share our values.”

FEDERAL JUDGE THROWS OUT BIDEN ADMIN PROGRAM TO LEGALIZE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT SPOUSES OF US CITIZENS

The 70-page bill seeks to codify many of the actions already taken by the Trump administration to tighten legal immigration pathways. In December 2025, President Donald Trump paused the green card lottery program in the wake of two shootings on college campuses, and last September, Trump signed an executive order placing restrictions on the issuance of H1B1 visas, a work visa offered for specialty occupations.

“If you want to come to the United States, you should earn it through merit, not diversity lotteries or loopholes. The Americans First Immigration Act restores fairness and accountability by protecting American jobs, prioritizing the nuclear family and ensuring that every immigrant admitted is prepared to contribute and succeed,” Moore told Fox News Digital.

While Moore’s bill seeks to end the diversity lottery visa, it includes a provision to ensure that the allotment of visas for religious workers, equal to 3,000 a year, is preserved.

‘SHAMEFUL’: LEGAL IMMIGRANTS FACE UPHILL BATTLE AMID ONGOING BORDER CRISIS

Julie Kirchner, a senior advisor at the America First Policy Institute, supports Moore’s bill, particularly the measure to eliminate lottery visas.

“The Visa Lottery has a long, documented history of fraud and national security concerns and should be abolished. Under a merit-based, America First system, any immigrant would have to demonstrate their skills, ability to assimilate, and how they will contribute to the U.S.,” Kirchner told Fox News Digital.

One of the other provisions in Moore’s bill seeks to put “American workers first” by overhauling the current employment-based immigration visa program and replacing it with a points-based merit system. Under the new points-based system, applicants are ranked and will receive points on factors such as their level of English proficiency, education, their level of compensation, military service and age. All applicants must have a salary that is at least 200% above the median wage of the state they’ll reside in, and they must meet English proficiency requirements.

REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: GOP PUSHES ELECTION SECURITY BILL DESPITE SLIM ODDS, AS TRUMP PRESSURE LOOMS

Employers must also prove that they “took good faith steps” in recruiting American workers for the job offered to the foreign worker for equal compensation. The legislation also requires employers to share with the government the name and contact information of American workers who were offered the job and their offered wage. The Department of Labor will oversee and investigate compliance.

And migrants offered a visa are required to sign a petition pledging they support the U.S. Constitution and its values. The pledge also includes a requirement to disavow political groups or social groups that partake in honor killings, female infanticide or genital mutilation.

“Ideally the government has the information in advance to bar these people from immigrating to the U.S.,” Kirchner said. “However, if a newly-arrived immigrant engages in behavior that demonstrates the statements he made to our immigration agencies were false, that can become the basis for deportation or denaturalization.”

The act would also curtail family-sponsored immigration to only be accessible to spouses of U.S. citizens, minor children, spouses of green card holders and children of green card holders. Parents, siblings, and adult children of U.S. citizens are barred.

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“What the bill does is eliminate the ability of extended family members to get a preference under the law,” Kirchner said. “Extended family members can still apply – but they would have to do so based on their own skills, merit, and ability to assimilate.”

A group of cultural and historic preservation groups on Wednesday called on a federal judge to block President Donald Trump from making major renovations to The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, which has undergone significant changes since the president returned to office last year.

The groups asked U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper to issue a preliminary injunction to prevent any construction ahead of the scheduled July 6 project launch, saying they worry the president and the center’s board of trustees will ignore historic preservation rules that aim to maintain the building.

Attorney Greg Werkheiser said after the hearing that the laws that govern the process “go to the very fundamental question of: Do we slow down and take stock before we make changes to properties that define the American experience?”

Justice Department attorneys, representing the president and board, argued that the administration’s plans for the building are limited in scope and well within the authority of the board as they claimed extra approvals were not needed.

TRUMP KENNEDY CENTER’S BOARD VOTES UNANIMOUSLY TO APPROVE $257M RENOVATIONS AND TWO-YEAR CLOSURE

After returning to the White House, Trump ousted the center’s previous leadership and replaced it with a handpicked board of allies who named him chairman, a move that sparked backlash from many artists. Trump’s name was also later added to the building’s facade so that it reads: “The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.”

Trump announced the scheduled renovations for the center earlier this year.

The hearing on Wednesday came after a separate one the day before regarding the future of the center.

Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, has also filed a lawsuit to stop renovations as an ex officio member of the board, and Cooper is also overseeing that case.

The center’s executive director, Matt Floca, a former facilities manager who was bumped up to the Trump-selected board, testified that the scheduled renovations are simply to repair decades of wear and tear, including extensive water damage to a part of the building that was nicknamed “the swamp.”

“The most efficient and effective way to complete the magnitude of projects we need to complete is to close the center,” Floca said.

Attorneys for the preservation groups questioned claims about the limited scope of the project, citing Trump’s statements that he would “fully expose” the building’s steel skeleton.

Justice Department attorney Yaakov Roth said those concerns have been blown out of proportion.

“There’s no risk that there will be unilateral changes … that we’ll wake up and the building will be gone,” Roth said.

TRUMP KENNEDY CENTER’S NEW LEADER REVEALED AS RIC GRENELL EXITS TOP ROLE

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The lawsuits regarding the Kennedy Center’s fate come amid other fights against Trump’s efforts to change historical landmarks in the nation’s capital.

Since he returned to office last year, Trump has frustrated preservationists, including by paving over the White House’s Rose Garden. Last year, the White House tore down its East Wing to make room for the president’s proposed $400 million ballroom, although construction of the ballroom has been halted by a judge as litigation continues.

Trump also has plans to erect a 250-foot “triumphal arch” to commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Congressional Republicans are racing to extend a controversial spying program before it is scheduled to lapse Friday at midnight. 

House lawmakers voted 235 to 191 in a bipartisan manner to extend Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) for the rest of President Donald Trump’s term.

The vote split Republicans, with more than 20 GOP privacy hawks voting against a three-year extension of the warrantless surveillance program.

The successful vote leaves the Senate little time to act before the fast-approaching April 30 deadline.

SPEAKER JOHNSON ONE STEP CLOSER TO RENEWING CONTROVERSIAL SPY PROGRAM AFTER CONSERVATIVES FALL IN LINE

A swath of House conservatives voted against the FISA renewal bill, citing concerns that the measure does not include more stringent privacy safeguards, such as a requirement for intelligence agencies to obtain a warrant before accessing Americans’ data. 

The spy law, considered one of the government’s most powerful surveillance tools, allows the U.S. government to gather intelligence on foreigners abroad who are using U.S. platforms, even when those communications involve Americans.

“We should all be standing up for the Fourth Amendment,” Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, a leading GOP privacy hawk, said during debate on the FISA renewal bill Tuesday.

House leadership attempted to win over some conservative holdouts by adding language permanently banning the Federal Reserve from issuing central bank digital currencies (CBDC) to the FISA renewal bill.

But Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has warned that the sweetener for privacy hawks will be interpreted as a poison pill in the Senate, where Democrats fiercely oppose a CBDC ban.

“They know that,” Thune told reporters Tuesday, referring to House Republicans. 

DEMS PULL OUT ALL THE STOPS TO KEEP OBAMACARE SUBSIDIES FIGHT ALIVE AFTER VOTE TO REOPEN GOVERNMENT

Johnson has voiced optimism that the upper chamber will take up the House bill without modifications. 

“I speak with Leader Thune all the time. They’re watching this very closely, and hopefully they can process what we send them,” Johnson told Fox News Wednesday. 

“No one, on the Republican side anyway, wants to play around with letting these critical national security tools go unfunded or expire,” he added. “So, I think they’ll move it expeditiously.”

The Trump administration has pressured House Republicans for weeks to back an extension of the spy law, arguing the surveillance authority is too vital for national security to expire.

“This department strongly supports the reauthorization of FISA 702,” Department of War Secretary Pete Hegseth told lawmakers Wednesday. “It is not hyperbole to say many of the most important missions we have executed could not have happened without the intelligence gathered through FISA 702.”

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House Democrats, many of whom have fierce objections to a clean extension of the spy law, voted en masse against the measure. 

“I’m suspicious. The way it’s proposed right now, particularly under this administration,” Rep. Andre Carson, D-Ind., told Fox News, referring to the FISA renewal bill. “I was more comfortable when I voted for it in 2024. Under this administration, I’m not as comfortable.”

Just 42 Democratic lawmakers, including Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, crossed party lines in support of the measure.

“I’ve seen countless, countless instances where the intelligence obtained through section 702 quite literally saved lives,” the Connecticut Democrat said. “So, given the binary choice between reauthorization and expiration, the responsible choice is reauthorization.”

California Gov. Gavin Newsom attempted to mock President Donald Trump this week by parodying a limited-edition U.S. passport featuring the commander-in-chief’s image.

The exchange began after the State Department announced that it will roll out special passports to commemorate the 250th anniversary of American independence, prominently featuring Trump’s image on the inside cover.

Not to be outdone, Newsom — a frequent critic who often takes to social media to needle the president — jokingly posted an image of a California driver’s license featuring his own portrait.

BESSENT MOCKS NEWSOM AT DAVOS AS ‘PATRICK BATEMAN MEETS SPARKLE BEACH KEN’

“IN HONOR OF CALIFORNIA’S 175TH ANNIVERSARY, WE WILL BE ROLLING OUT A VERY SPECIAL DRIVER’S LICENSE FOR EVERY CALIFORNIAN THIS SUMMER!” Newsom’s press office wrote on X. “IT WILL FEATURE A HANDSOME, HIGH-QUALITY PHOTO OF ME, GAVIN C. NEWSOM. MANY PEOPLE ARE SAYING IT’S THE BEST LICENSE EVER MADE IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD. THIS IS ABOUT CELEBRATING OUR BEAUTIFUL STATE (IT IS NOT ABOUT ME, DESPITE THE VERY HANDSOME PHOTO!). ENJOY! — GOVERNOR GCN.”

In a statement to Fox News Digital, the White House said that Trump “is focused on saving our country—not garnering recognition.”

“Anyone who finds an issue with President Trump celebrating the greatness of our country during our historic semiquincentennial celebration clearly suffers from a severe and incurable disease known as Trump Derangement Syndrome,” a White House spokesperson added.

Since last summer, Newsom has increasingly adopted a Trump-like rhetorical style on social media, mimicking the president’s tone and penchant for self-celebration while criticizing his policies.

EXCLUSIVE: TRUMP STATE DEPARTMENT UNVEILS BOLD NEW DESIGN FOR AMERICA250 PASSPORTS

“It’s fun to laugh at our s—-for-brains president who is trashing our great country,” a Newsom spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “The best way to deal with Trump’s absurd leadership is to call it out with a mirror until he takes his job seriously.”

In another provocative post, Newsom’s office shared a mock image of a U.S. passport featuring Trump alongside the deceased financier Jeffrey Epstein.

In a separate weekend post, Newsom hurled insults at Trump, calling him a “loser,” a label Trump himself famously uses against his critics.

“VERY IMPORTANT PEOPLE ARE COMING UP TO ME, GAVIN C. NEWSOM, IN DC (INCLUDING A TOP REPUBLICAN, I WON’T SAY WHO!) TELLING ME, ‘GAVIN, SIR, YOU ARE AMAZING. AS GOVERNOR OF THE FREE WORLD, YOU MUST GO TO THE WHCA DINNER,’” his office wrote, referring to Saturday’s White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner.

The event gained additional notoriety after a gunman allegedly shot a U.S. Secret Service agent nearby before being arrested.

SOUTH CAROLINA DEMOCRAT SAYS NEWSOM MUST EXPLAIN ‘MANY FAILURES IN CALIFORNIA’ BEFORE PRESIDENTIAL RUN

“‘YOU WILL DO MUCH BETTER THAN THAT LOSER TRUMP!’ VERY KIND! I WAS NOT PLANNING ON GOING… BUT NOW EVERYONE IS BEGGING ME BECAUSE I AM MAKING THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY ‘HOT’ AGAIN. WE’LL SEE. I AM VERY BUSY TONIGHT! THANK YOU!”

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Fox News Digital reached out to Newsom’s office for further comment.

The House of Representatives approved a budget blueprint funding immigration enforcement for the rest of President Donald Trump’s term over Democrats’ fierce objections on Wednesday.

Lawmakers voted 215-211 along party lines to take a critical step toward ending the record-breaking Department of Homeland Security funding lapse that began on Feb. 14.

Rep. Kevin Kiley, I-Calif., who caucuses with Republicans, voted present. House Democrats united in opposition to the immigration enforcement measure while every Republican present voted in support.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., could spare just a handful of defections with Republicans’ slim majority.

REPUBLICANS CAN FUND ICE FOR AN ENTIRE DECADE WITHOUT A SINGLE DEM VOTE: SEN CRUZ

The House’s approval of the Senate-passed budget framework unlocks the partisan budget reconciliation process, which Republicans are using to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection without support from congressional Democrats.

Trump has given Republicans a June 1 deadline to send a budget reconciliation bill to his desk, giving GOP leadership little room for error.

“We have a real sense of urgency about getting this done,” Johnson told Fox News Wednesday.

The successful vote came after more than a dozen GOP lawmakers ranging from conservatives to farm-state and Midwestern Republicans withheld their votes over concerns unrelated to the budget framework.

Republican leadership held the vote open for more than five hours to win over the numerous holdouts and six GOP lawmakers who voted “no” before flipping to “yes.”

Those lawmakers included Reps. Max Miller, R-Ohio, Andy Harris, R-Md., Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., and Michael Cloud, R-Texas.

“This is why they say lawmaking is like watching sausage be made,” Johnson told reporters Wednesday. “That’s what this is, but we’ll get it done.” 

The budget resolution teeing up funding for Trump’s immigration agenda is just one piece of Republicans’ DHS funding strategy.

SENATE BORDER BUDGET TRIUMPHS AFTER ALL-NIGHT SESSION WHILE TRUMP-BACKED HOUSE BILL LAGS

House GOP leadership has not specified when it plans to take up a Senate-passed measure funding the rest of the department.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., agreed on a two-track approach to fund DHS by steering around Democratic opposition weeks ago. But Johnson has so far declined to put the Senate’s partial DHS bill on the House floor over concerns that it zeroes out funding for immigration enforcement. 

Johnson said earlier this week that some “modifications” to the measure may be necessary but has not gone into detail about specific changes.

The White House on Tuesday sent Hill offices an internal memo, obtained by Fox News Digital, urging passage of the Senate’s partial DHS bill, raising the pressure on Johnson to act.

Many rank-and-file House Republicans want ICE and the Border Patrol funded before the rest of the department, which could mean a delay for several more weeks.

“I think that there’s a serious problem with the bill in that it zeroes out, ICE and CBP,” Rep. Eric Burlison, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, told Fox News. “It’s one thing to not do the funding, but it’s a whole other thing to put zeros in the bill.”

“I know that the speaker’s working on making sure that we have all the assurances and even maybe the cash in hand in terms of reconciliation being wrapped up, finalized before we take the 95% of the rest of Homeland Security,” House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, said.

Meanwhile, the White House is warning that it will be short on funds to pay the department’s hundreds of thousands of employees beginning in May.

“If this funding is exhausted, the Administration will be unable to pay DHS personnel beginning in May, which will once again unleash havoc on air travel, leave critical law enforcement officers—including our brave Secret Service agents—and the Coast Guard without paychecks, and jeopardize national security,” the White House memo published Tuesday states.

House Republicans’ approval of the Senate blueprint also effectively shuts the door on adding other GOP priorities to the budget package. Some GOP lawmakers had floated adding affordability-focused provisions, defense supplemental funding and the SAVE America Act to the bill.

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GOP leadership had argued for weeks that a larger bill risked derailing the budget reconciliation process.

“We’re focused on funding Homeland Security and stopping the Democrat shutdown and, in particular, using reconciliation to fund ICE and CBP because Democrats refused to fund it,” Arrington said. “Everything else is not germane to this conversation.”

Rick Jackson, a Republican gubernatorial hopeful in Georgia, is facing heat from critics calling him a “fraud” and claiming he lied during a debate earlier this week when the candidate struggled to answer whether he has illegal aliens working for him.

“I don’t know,” Jackson replied when his fellow Republican frontrunner in the race, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, asked him point-blank whether he has any illegal aliens working for him. 

Jackson explained he was not directly involved in the hiring process in question, but he also said on the debate stage that anyone making hires for him “obey[ed] the laws,” including verifying employment eligibility using the appropriate federal “verification” measures despite saying the opposite during a sworn deposition.

After his contradictory remarks on the debate stage Monday night, Jackson’s critics leaped at the opportunity to call him out, pointing to his sworn remarks from a worker’s compensation case, during which Jackson admitted that new hires were not vetted using mandatory federal I-9 forms meant to ensure employees are eligible to work.

FLORIDA GOV DESANTIS TANGLES WITH REPORTER OVER ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION, TELLS HER ‘YOU SEEM TO HAVE NO SYMPATHY’

“Rick Jackson is lying to someone. Either he lied in his deposition under oath or he lied to Georgians on the debate stage,” political strategist Phil Vangelakos said after the debate. “It’s pretty clear that he knows he’s employed illegal immigrants.”

“Richie Rick Jackson is a fraud that will say what he needs to in order to win and is pretending to be a Trump Conservative, when in fact, he is a Bush moderate,” said Georgia Tea Party activist Debbie Dooley, who is unrelated to the football coach turned Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Georgia, Derek Dooley. 

“He campaigns against illegals, yet he hires them.”

The criticism against Jackson stems from a worker’s compensation lawsuit Jackson found himself embroiled in, which included documents and records indicating he was paying at least one landscaper at his mansion who is undocumented, possibly more. The story was first reported by the New York Post ahead of Monday night’s debate.

The suit was filed against Jackson Investment Group, LLC, and JIG Real Estate, LLC, which is owned by the former firm. Jackson is publicly listed as the CEO of both companies as well.

SCOOP: TRUMP ALLY TO LAUNCH KEY BATTLEGROUND STATE CAMPAIGN IN BID TO FLIP DEMOCRAT-HELD SENATE SEAT

According to the case’s filings, Jackson “maintained a long-standing workforce of multiple laborers performing landscaping and property maintenance work for decades, including individuals without work authorization who nonetheless performed continuous employment for the employer.”

Jackson was deposed as part of the case, during which Jackson indicated he was unaware that his hires were undocumented immigrants. However, according to the deposition, Jackson was aware that his new hires were not being vetted using mandatory I-9 verification forms.

“No,” Jackson replied when asked in the deposition if he does any employment verification through the I-9 system.

In other parts of the deposition, Jackson echoed what he said Monday night, that he was not directly involved with the hiring of workers and only engaged with the landscaping superintendent.

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“I know that sounds confusing,” Jackson explained in his deposition. “But most of our — if we have other employees, we usually hire them through JIG or another entity. I’m talking about if JIG has employees, we hire them through another entity. I’m not sure that we have any direct employees, from a payroll standpoint, out of JIG Real Estate.”

Greg Bluestein, a reporter with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, pointed out Wednesday that it “didn’t take long” after Monday night’s debate for one of Jackson’s leading opponents in the GOP primary battle, which will culminate with a May 19 primary election, to attack Jackson over the inconsistency of his statements.

“No I-9’s, no background checks for decades,” says a narrator in an attack ad from the Jones campaign. The ad then cuts to Jones asking Jackson on the debate stage whether he has any illegal immigrants working for him, to which Jackson responds, “I don’t know.”

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“He knew,” the narrator chimes in. “He’s not just hiring illegal immigrants, he’s lying to Georgians.”

When asked for a response to the backlash, Jackson’s team said the takeaway from the debate “is the universal agreement that Burt Jones has used his office corruptly to enrich himself and attack his political opponents.” The campaign spokesperson also alleged that much of the criticism targeting Jackson stems from people from the Jones campaign.  

“It’s like a corrupt politician to attack Rick over someone hired by his landscaper,” the spokesperson added. “In the debate exchange, Rick talked about hiring thousands of people per year, a reference that could only be about Jackson Healthcare, which has used E-Verify since 2012. 

“Rick would never knowingly hire someone in the country illegally and, as governor, he’ll make Georgia No. 1 in criminal illegal deportations.”

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The primary election on May 19 will also include GOP frontrunners Attorney General Chris Carr and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

EXCLUSIVE: First Lady Melania Trump is carving out a forward-looking role in the White House, positioning herself as a leading voice on artificial intelligence and education as the administration embraces emerging technology, according to an exclusive interview with her senior advisor.

The first lady this week hosted an immersive event at the White House tennis pavilion — a space she designed during her husband’s first term — where students used Meta virtual reality headsets and AI-powered glasses to explore British landmarks and examine historical artifacts.

The event, which coincided with a visit from Queen Camilla, highlighted Melania Trump’s broader initiative, Fostering the Future Together, a global effort focused on expanding access to technology and education for children.

“She wanted to create an innovative cross-cultural educational experience,” senior advisor Marc Beckman told Fox News Digital, describing the event as part of her ongoing push to integrate artificial intelligence into learning.

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Students first used VR headsets to virtually visit sites including Buckingham Palace, Stonehenge and the Giant’s Causeway before engaging directly with Queen Camilla. They later used AI-enabled glasses to examine curated artifacts from the White House collection and the National Archives, with the technology providing real-time historical context.

The artifacts included a portrait of John Adams, the first U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom, a World War II-era map associated with President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and a bust of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill — all selected to underscore the longstanding relationship between the two nations.

Beckman said the initiative reflects a broader focus by the first lady on artificial intelligence and education, which has become a central theme of her work during the administration.

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“She has been a champion of artificial intelligence and education for children,” he said.

Her interest in AI predates her return to the White House. Before reentering public life, Melania Trump worked to develop an AI-powered audiobook version of her memoir, released in multiple languages — an effort Beckman said gave her firsthand experience with the technology.

That background has informed her support for the Presidential AI Challenge, a program aimed at engaging students across all 50 states in technology-focused education and competition.

Beckman also pointed to her recent appearance at the United Nations Security Council, where she emphasized the role artificial intelligence could play in expanding access to knowledge and education worldwide.

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“This theme just keeps going — children, education, technology,” he said.

With additional partnerships, regional initiatives and research efforts already in development, Beckman said the first lady plans to continue expanding her AI-focused agenda in the months ahead.

President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday the U.S. is weighing a potential drawdown of American troops in Germany, opening a new front in his escalating feud with the country’s leadership just days after he blasted Chancellor Friedrich Merz over Iran.

In a Truth Social post Wednesday afternoon, Trump said the U.S. is “studying and reviewing the possible reduction of Troops in Germany.”

He said a determination will be made “over the next short period of time.”

The announcement comes after the president on Tuesday criticized German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, saying he “doesn’t know what he’s talking about” regarding Iran’s nuclear capabilities.

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“The Chancellor of Germany, Friedrich Merz, thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post Tuesday. “He doesn’t know what he’s talking about! If Iran had a Nuclear Weapon, the whole World would be held hostage.”

“I am doing something with Iran, right now, that other Nations, or Presidents, should have done long ago. No wonder Germany is doing so poorly, both Economically, and otherwise!” he added.

The president’s comments were seemingly in response to Merz’s speech in Marsberg Monday, where he said the U.S. was being “humiliated by the Iranian leadership.”

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Merz added he hopes the war ends “as quickly as possible.”

During both of Trump’s terms, the leaders have publicly clashed on issues including tariffs and defense.

Earlier this month, Merz said he did not believe NATO should be involved in the war with Iran, as Trump urged allies to secure Strait of Hormuz.

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As of December 2025, there are more than 36,000 active U.S. service members stationed in Germany, more than any other European country, according to the Defense Manpower Data Center.

It is unclear how much the president may slash troops.

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