NationalWatch

Democrats are seeking to put limits on private donations to foot the bill for President Donald Trump’s new White House ballroom amid what they say are bribery concerns. 

Trump announced in October that construction had started on the ballroom — leading to the demolition of the White House’s historic East Wing — and would be privately funded at an estimated cost of $300 million. That was up from the $200 million estimate first provided in July when the project was unveiled.

But Democrats are concerned the donors — including individuals and other organizations — are footing the bill for the project because they are seeking something in return from the Trump administration, and recently introduced legislation to try to curb it. 

Although the White House released a list of the donors in October, Democrats, including Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Adam Schiff of California, claim that additional oversight is needed and that the White House has not identified all donors, while others have been granted anonymity.

TRUMP JR. BLASTS IRONY OF ‘INSANE’ DEMOCRATIC MELTDOWN OVER WHITE HOUSE BALLROOM PROJECT 

Among those who’ve donated to the ballroom project are Google, Apple, Meta Platforms, Amazon, Microsoft and Lockheed Martin. As a result, lawmakers argue that those who’ve contributed to the project could be doing so to curry favor with the administration, setting up a “pay-to-play” relationship with the Trump administration. 

Specifically, lawmakers pointed to Google agreeing to a $22 million settlement with Trump in September, stemming from Trump’s censorship lawsuit against YouTube for banning him from the platform after the Jan. 6 attacks on the U.S. Capitol. Google, which owns YouTube, is also involved in an antitrust case leveled against it by the Justice Department, and therefore, could benefit from soliciting favor from the Trump administration, the lawmakers claim. 

Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. 

“Billionaires and giant corporations with business in front of this administration are lining up to dump millions into Trump’s new ballroom — and Trump is showing them where to sign on the dotted line,” Warren said in a statement Tuesday. “Americans shouldn’t have to wonder whether President Trump is building a ballroom to facilitate a pay-to-play scheme for political favors. My new bill will put an end to what looks like bribery in plain sight.”

TRUMP CELEBRATES WHITE HOUSE DEMOLITION AS NEW BALLROOM RISES: ‘MUSIC TO MY EARS’ 

Warren, along with the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, Rep. Robert Garcia of California, spearheaded the legislation. Other lawmakers, including Schiff, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and others, have also cosponsored the measure. 

Specifically, the legislation would bar donations from organizations or individuals that present a conflict of interest, and would prohibit the president, vice president or their families and staff from soliciting donations. 

Once donations have been made and are cleared by the directors of the National Park Service and the Office of Government Ethics, the measure would then bar displaying donors’ names in recognition of the donation, and would also require a two-year freeze for the donor to lobby the federal government.

SWALWELL MOCKED FOR DEMANDING 2028 DEMOCRATS PLEDGE TO DEMOLISH TRUMP’S BALLROOM 

Additionally, it would prohibit using any remaining donated funds to then go toward personal use, or to benefit the president, vice president or their family and staff. 

Likewise, the measure also would require that donors disclose meetings with the federal government that occur in the year following the donation, and prohibit anonymous donations. 

“President Trump has put a ‘for sale’ sign on the White House—soliciting hundreds of millions of dollars from special interests to fund his $300 million vanity project,” Blumenthal said in a statement Tuesday. “Our measure is a direct response to Trump’s ballroom boondoggle. With commonsense reforms to how the federal government can use private donations, our legislation prevents President Trump and future presidents from using construction projects as vehicles for corruption and personal vanity.” 

Meanwhile, the White House dismissed the measure and Democrats’ efforts to impose new restrictions on donations.

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“President Trump is making the White House beautiful and giving it the glory it deserves,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle said in a statement to Fox News Digital on Monday. “Only people with a severe case of Trump Derangement Syndrome would find a problem with that.”

Trump has initiated several renovation projects at the White House during his second term, including adding gold accents to the White House’s Oval Office and paving the Rose Garden. 

Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, who recently announced that she plans to resign, noted that she will not make an endorsement in the race to fill her seat next year.

“Looking ahead towards the Special Election for my Congressional seat, I will not be endorsing anyone out of respect to my district. I truly support the wonderful people of Georgia 14 and want them to pick their Representative. So anyone claiming they have my endorsement would not be telling the truth,” Greene said in a Monday post on X.

The congresswoman, who has served in the House of Representatives since early 2021, announced on Friday that January 5 will be her final day in office. 

REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: HOUSE MATH TURNS TRICKY AS GREENE RESIGNATION TIGHTENS GOP GRIP ON POWER

Greene won re-election last year, which means her planned departure from Congress will occur well before the end of her two-year term slated to end in early 2027.

President Donald Trump targeted Greene on Truth Social prior to her resignation announcement and has continued to do so following the news of her decision, calling her “Marjorie ‘Traitor’ Brown.”

In a Monday post on X, Greene described “Smears, lies, attacks, and name calling” as “childish behavior, divisive, and bad for our country.”

TRUMP CLAIMS GOP HAS ‘NEVER BEEN SO UNITED,’ CALLS GREENE AND OTHER REPUBLICANS ‘LOWLIFES’

She has repudiated the idea that she plans to run for president.

“Running for President requires traveling all over the country, begging for donations all day everyday to raise hundreds of millions of dollars, arguing political talking points everyday to the point of exhaustion, destroying your health and having no personal life in order to attempt to get enough votes to become President all to go to work into a system that refuses to fix any of America’s problems,” she wrote in a post on X. 

REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE SLAPS DOWN NOTION THAT SHE’S EYEING A PRESIDENTIAL RUN

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“The fact that I’d have to go through all that but would be totally blocked from truly fixing anything is exactly why I would never do it. And most importantly, I’m not the kind of person who is willing to make the deals that must be made in order to be allowed to have the title,” she wrote.

EXCLUSIVE: The FBI thwarted a massive terror attack in October that prevented the killing of countless Americans and exposed a global terror network through their investigative strategy that led to “some of the most impactful arrests” in the counterterrorism program in recent years.

Fox News Digital sat down Thursday for an exclusive interview with FBI Director Kash Patel, FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino and a senior agent official with direct involvement in counterterrorism cases.

THWARTED MICHIGAN HALLOWEEN TERROR PLOT HAD CONNECTION TO ISIS, FOX NEWS LEARNS

The potential terror attack was set to take place in Michigan ahead of Halloween weekend and allegedly had a connection to ISIS, the FBI said. The FBI arrested multiple suspects accused of plotting the terror attack.

“The arrests that happened in Detroit, Newark, and Seattle represent one of the most deadly plots faced by the FBI in recent memory,” the agent told Fox News Digital. “Those eight arrests, and ones that have happened around the world are some of the most impactful arrests that have happened in the counterterrorism program in recent years.”

Two men have been charged in federal court — Mohamed Ali and Majed Mahmoud, both from Dearborn, Michigan. The charges involve transferring firearms and ammunition and conspiring or attempting to do so, knowing they would be used to commit and support terrorism and providing material support to ISIS.

The government alleges five individuals were involved in the plot, including one minor. 

BROTHER OF SUSPECTED HOMEGROWN TERRORIST ARRESTED AS HALLOWEEN PLOT EXPANDS TO MORE STATES

Patel told Fox News Digital that the FBI “arrested the people who were the overt actors immediately, while constantly surveilling the people in New Jersey and Seattle.”

“We arrested them in a coordinated fashion thereafter to take down the entire network,” Patel said, hitting back at critics. “If we were to do this the way the media wanted us to do it, we would have waited for them to kill Americans, and then arrest them.”

Patel was referring to media reports critical of the FBI’s timeline that claimed investigators didn’t have enough details on whether the attack was actually imminent.

EXCLUSIVE: FBI CONCLUDES TRUMP SHOOTER THOMAS CROOKS ACTED ALONE AFTER UNPRECEDENTED GLOBAL INVESTIGATION

“If we hadn’t moved, we would not have fleshed out the entire network that we now know spans the entire globe,” the agent told Fox News Digital. “There have been arrests overseas that have been directly related to the same plot, and that would not have happened had we prematurely executed those arrests.”

The agent told Fox News Digital that he could not provide further details due to current prosecutions in the U.S. and Europe related to the potential attack.

SUSPECTS IN FOILED HALLOWEEN TERROR PLOT PICTURED PRACTICING AT MICHIGAN GUN RANGE: FBI

“People would have died. A lot of them. That’s a fact. A lot of people would have died,” Bongino told Fox News Digital. “And their work stopped it.”

In October, the FBI executed search warrants on the homes of Ali and Mahmoud and a storage unit they allegedly shared, seizing multiple semiautomatic rifles, a shotgun, handguns, tactical gear and more than 1,600 rounds of 5.56 mm ammunition. 

Agents also recovered surveillance video showing Ali and other alleged conspirators at a Michigan gun range, where they are accused of practicing shooting in preparation for the foiled attack.

According to an FBI affidavit, the conspirators allegedly drew inspiration from the Pulse shooting and the 2015 coordinated terror attacks in Paris, which killed 137 and injured more than 400.

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In Michigan, the suspects also sought advice from the father of a local “Islamic extremist ideologue,” according to the FBI affidavit, allegedly seeking religious approval for the plot.

They also allegedly discussed choosing a date that would be celebrated by subsequent radical Islamic terrorists.

It’s about the math.

And the math in the House of Representatives got much more interesting Friday night when Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., announced she would resign in January.

The current breakdown in the House is 219-213 in favor of Republicans with three vacancies: Former Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn., retired. The late Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Texas, died. Former Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J., resigned late last week after voters elected her governor of New Jersey. The House finally swore in Rep. Adelita Grijalva, D-Ariz., six weeks after she prevailed in her special election in September to succeed her late father. Late Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz., died earlier this year.

The six-seat margin means that the GOP can only lose two votes on the floor and still pass a bill without help from the Democrats.

HEADED FOR THE EXITS: WHY 3-DOZEN HOUSE MEMBERS AREN’T RUNNING FOR RE-ELECTION

But the math in the coming weeks and months quickly gets dicey for the GOP.

Greene does not step aside until Jan. 5. So let’s run through the numbers and permutations which could evolve over the next few months.

There’s a special election in Tennessee to succeed former House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green on Dec. 2. President Donald Trump carried the district by 22 points last fall. Green bested his opponent – former Nashville Mayor Megan Barry, a Democrat, by 21 points. So Republicans are expected to hold this seat.

But there is something important to know about special elections: they’re special. They sometimes produce weird results because the usual voting electorate doesn’t show up. Plus, surges by one party or the other in a special election held in either a deeply blue or ruby red district sometimes signals a boost for the party. Strong performances or even upsets sometimes portend what’s ahead in the next election. They also signal a referendum on the President.

For instance, in 2017, Democrats were competitive in four GOP seats of House members who departed to join the Trump administration. But even though the Democrats ran well, they still failed to flip any of those seats. Former Rep. Mike Pompeo, R-Kan., stepped down to become CIA Director. Rep. Ron Estes, R-Kan., then won that seat by a mere six points. Current Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., resigned to become Interior Secretary. Former Rep. and current Gov. Greg Gianforte, R-Mont., won – but only by five points and less than 50 percent of the vote. Former Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., resigned to become Health and Human Services Secretary. Former Rep. Karen Handel, R-Ga., won by only three points over current Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga. Former Rep. Mick Mulvaney, R-S.C., left his House seat to become Budget Director and later White House Chief of Staff. Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., succeeded Mulvaney. But Norman won by only three percentage points.

BATTLE FOR THE HOUSE: GOP GETS BOOST IN BID TO FLIP SWING DISTRICT AFTER DEMOCRAT BOWS OUT

Even though Democrats failed to flip any of those seats, they made the GOP sweat and put up strong showings. Some analysts viewed the Democrats’ performances in those contests as a sign of things to come in the 2018 midterms and President Trump’s weakness.

Democrats then reclaimed control of the House in the 2018 midterms and won 40 seats.

Republican Matt Van Epps faces Democrat Aftyn Behn next week in the special election to succeed Green in Tennessee. Democrats are pouring money into that contest hoping they can flip the seat.

If they do, the GOP majority dwindles to 219-214. But if Van Epps prevails, the GOP gets some space with a 220-213 majority.

But that only lasts until Greene steps down in January. So the majority would dwindle to 219-213.

Remember that you cannot appoint someone to the House. So you have to wait for special elections. The Georgia special election to succeed Greene wouldn’t happen until March.

But there’s lots to happen before then.

There is a special election runoff to replace Democrat Sylvester Turner on Jan. 31. Democrats will hold that seat with two of their own in the runoff. But government funding expires on Jan. 30. One wonders if House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., might hold off swearing-in a prospective Democratic successor to Turner if the House is out for similar reasons as to why the Speaker refrained from swearing-in Adelita Grijalva.

HOUSE GOP CAMPAIGN CHAIR WANTS TRUMP ‘OUT THERE ON THE TRAIL’ IN MIDTERM BATTLE FOR MAJORITY

So, presuming Van Epps wins, and with Greene gone and either Democrats Amanda Edwards or Christian Menefee winning the Turner seat in Texas, the GOP majority dips to 219-214. It’s a margin of five. But again, Republicans can only lose two votes and not need help from the other side.

Now we’re back to a special election in March for Greene’s seat. Again, Democrats will try to make that competitive. But for the sake of argument, let’s say the GOP wins. The Republican majority climbs to 220-214.

So at this stage, we are down to only one vacancy in the House – presuming no one else quits or, God forbid, dies. The special election to succeed Sherrill will come in April. Again, Democrats should hold that seat. But special elections are just that: special. Republicans will certainly try to flip that seat. But if Democrats hold on and the House is at full strength, the GOP majority will sit at 220-215.

This scenario presumes both parties win everything they’re supposed to win.

DEMOCRATS SEE MANDATE AFTER 2025 WINS — REPUBLICANS SAY IT’S A MIRAGE

But what happens if Democrats were to flip the open seats in Tennessee and Georgia and win the special elections in Texas and New Jersey? In that scenario, you’re looking at a 218-217 Republican majority next spring.

Again, we’re positing that no one dies or retires mid-term.

The House is not a very pleasant place to be right now. That’s why some lawmakers may look for the exits early.

And, there’s an old saying that “death will come. And it’s always out of season.”

Sylvester Turner was a freshman Democrat and had been a Member of the House for barely two months. He attended President Trump’s State of the Union speech in early March. Turner died overnight.

Grijalva had suffered from cancer for years. He died eight days after Turner. By spring, late Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., died from cancer – just months after becoming the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee.

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The late Rep. Donald Payne Jr., D-N.J., died last year after bouts with various health issues. Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., succeeded him in the fall.

The late Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, died in July and was succeeded by her daughter, Rep. Erica Lee Carter.

The Senate majority has flipped a couple of times in the middle of Congress. The House majority has never switched in the middle of Congress. That may not be the case now. But the tenuous hold on power for the GOP has been the story of the House since the 2022 midterms. It’s one of the tightest majorities in history. And it wouldn’t take much to shift power.

President Donald Trump has signaled that he is planning to designate the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization after several groups have stepped up warnings in recent months that the Islamist group is gaining a foothold in the U.S.

“It will be done in the strongest and most powerful terms,” Trump told Just the News over the weekend. “Final documents are being drawn.”

Trump’s comment comes shortly after Texas declared the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization and just days after the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP), a prominent global research center, released a comprehensive 200-page study warning of the Muslim Brotherhood’s growing influence in the U.S.

The Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist organization founded in Egypt, has gained access to government agencies, been involved in advising American civil rights policy, infiltrated educational institutions, and created a vast social media footprint, the report states, while outlining the belief that the group has allegedly targeted U.S. government agencies for infiltration, including the State Department, Department of Homeland Security, and Department of Justice, through career appointments and advisory roles.

TEXAS GOV ABBOTT DECLARES CAIR, MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD AS TERRORIST GROUPS, PREVENTING LAND PURCHASES

“We welcome President Trump’s statements and the growing recognition that the Muslim Brotherhood, its ideology and network pose a serious challenge to the United States and democratic societies,” Charles Asher Small, executive director of ISGAP, said in a press release after Trump’s interview with Just the News.

“A formal U.S. designation would represent an important first step to confront the Muslim Brotherhood in the United States. This will require sustained, evidence-based policy, serious scrutiny of its affiliated structures and funding streams, and long-term investment in democratic resilience.”

FRENCH REPORT IDENTIFIES MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD THREAT AS TED CRUZ SEEKS US TERROR DESIGNATION FOR GROUP

The ISGAP report dives deep into alleged terrorist ties within the group along with various funding sources from places like Qatar, while making the case that both al-Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood “share the strategic aim” of establishing an Islamic state government by sharia law and differing only in tactics where the Brotherhood’s “gradualism allows it to maintain ideological continuity with militant jihad while avoiding direct confrontation.”

In addition to declaring the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization, ISGAP says it has been working to gather scholars and experts on the subject in an effort to nudge Congress into acting on the specifics of the report.

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Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment but did not hear back by press time.

“The Brotherhood is the progenitor of all modern Jihadist terror groups, from al-Qaeda to HAMAS,” Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Counterterrorism Sebastian Gorka posted on X over the weekend. “The time has come.”

The Department of War announced Monday that it has opened a formal review into allegations of misconduct against Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona over a video calling on service members to “refuse illegal orders.”

The Pentagon said it may even call Kelly, a retired Navy captain, back to active duty to face court-martial proceedings or other administrative actions under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. 

“This matter will be handled in compliance with military law, ensuring due process and impartiality,” the department said, adding that further comments will be limited to protect the integrity of the proceedings.

TROOPS RISK COURT-MARTIAL IF THEY FOLLOW DEMOCRATS’ ‘ILLEGAL ORDERS’ ADVICE, FORMER MILITARY LAWYERS WARN

The statement also underscored that military retirees remain subject to the UCMJ and reminded servicemembers that “orders are presumed to be lawful” and must be obeyed. The department cited federal statutes, including 18 U.S.C. § 2387, which prohibits attempts to undermine the loyalty, morale, or discipline of U.S. forces.

“The Department of War reminds all individuals that military retirees remain subject to the UCMJ for applicable offenses,” the statement read. “A servicemember’s personal philosophy does not justify or excuse the disobedience of an otherwise lawful order.”

Even though Kelly left active service years ago, the Pentagon could, if it determines his actions violated the code, bring him before a military court.

Such recalls are rare and typically reserved for serious criminal conduct, such as espionage, sexual assault, or fraud. Still, precedent exists. In United States v. Dinger (2018) and United States v. Larrabee (2020), military appellate courts reaffirmed that retirees receiving pay remain under the UCMJ’s jurisdiction and can be tried for offenses committed after retirement.

DEMOCRATIC SENATOR ‘NOT AWARE’ IF TRUMP GAVE ANY ILLEGAL MILITARY ORDERS AMID VIDEO CONTROVERSY

If the review concludes that Kelly’s comments constituted conduct “to the prejudice of good order and discipline” or a violation of U.S. code, which prohibits encouraging disloyalty or insubordination among the armed forces, he could face recall to active duty for a formal court-martial. Punishments under those statutes can include forfeiture of pay, confinement or dismissal from service — though such outcomes are extraordinarily rare for political figures.

Any proceedings would likely provoke a constitutional showdown over whether speech made in a political context can be subject to military law, even by a retired officer.

While many lawmakers have served in the armed forces — and several have remained in the reserves while in office — there is no historical record of a sitting U.S. senator or representative being recalled to active duty for disciplinary action.

Last week, Kelly and five other Democratic members of Congress posted a video directed at service members and intelligence officers stating: “Our laws are clear. You can refuse illegal orders.”

Four of the other Democrats are former military, but not retired and therefore are not subject to the UCMJ, according to Sec. Pete Hegseth. Another, Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., is a former CIA officer. 

“The Department is reviewing his statements and actions, which were addressed directly to all troops while explicitly using his rank and service affiliation—lending the appearance of authority to his words,” Hegseth said. “Kelly’s conduct brings discredit upon the armed forces and will be addressed appropriately.”

In response to the video, President Donald Trump said the lawmakers should be arrested and tried for “seditious behavior.” 

“SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!” he said. 

Kelly accused Trump of “trying to intimidate us” and added: “I’m not going to be intimidated.”

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“His words carry tremendous weight, more so than anybody else in the country, and he should be aware of that, and because of what he says, there is now increased threats against us,” Kelly said on CBS’ Face the Nation. 

Kelly responded to the latest investigation with an X post detailing his time in service in the Navy and as an astronaut at NASA.

“If this is meant to intimidate me and other members of Congress from doing our jobs and holding this administration accountable, it won’t work. I’ve given too much to this country to be silenced by bullies who care more about their own power than protecting the Constitution.” 

“The White House is supportive of the Department of War’s investigation into Senator Mark Kelly, and I think what Senator Mark Kelly was actually trying to do was intimidate the 1.3 million active duty service members,” said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. 

A federal judge threw out the indictments against James Comey and Letitia James on Monday, finding they were illegitimate because they were brought by an unqualified U.S. attorney.

Judge Cameron Currie dismissed the false statements charges against Comey and bank fraud charges against James without prejudice, meaning the charges could be brought again.

“I conclude that the Attorney General’s attempt to install Ms. [Lindsey] Halligan as Interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia was invalid and that Ms. Halligan has been unlawfully serving in that role since September 22, 2025,” Currie wrote.

The Department of Justice could appeal the decision or attempt to bring the charges under a different U.S. attorney. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News’ Martha MacCaullum the DOJ plans to appeal.

“We believe the attorney in this case, Lindsey Halligan, is not only extremely qualified for this position but she was in fact legally appointed,” Leavitt said. “And I know the Department of Justice will be appealing this in very short order.”

COMEY DENIES CHARGES, DECLARES ‘I AM NOT AFRAID’

The move to scrap two of the highest-profile criminal cases the DOJ has leveled against President Donald Trump’s political foes comes after the judge voiced skepticism at a recent hearing in Virginia about Halligan’s ability to bring the charges as interim U.S. attorney.

Currie, a Clinton appointee based in South Carolina, was brought in from out of state to preside over proceedings about the question of Halligan’s authority because it presented a conflict for the Virginia judges. Comey’s and James’ challenges to Halligan’s appointment were consolidated because of their similarity.

Halligan acted alone in presenting charges to the grand juries shortly after Trump ousted the prior interim U.S. attorney, Erik Siebert, and urged Attorney General Pam Bondi to replace him with Halligan, a former White House aide and insurance lawyer. Bondi complied, but Currie found the interim U.S. attorney term had already expired under Siebert and that the Virginia judges were now responsible for appointing a temporary U.S. attorney to serve until Trump could get one confirmed in the Senate. 

Trump has been unable to persuade the Senate to confirm several U.S. attorneys in blue states, leading the president and Bondi to sidestep the upper chamber at times to install Trump’s preferred appointees, such as Halligan. Currie’s decision comes after federal judges also disqualified appointees in California, New Jersey and Nevada.

Trump had called on Bondi to act quickly to indict Comey and others, a call that came as the statutes of limitations in Comey’s case was about to lapse. Halligan, who had no prior prosecutorial experience when she took over one of the most high-profile federal court districts in the country, delivered for Trump within days. She was the lone lawyer to present the cases to the grand juries and sign the indictments. No prosecutors from Virginia joined in on either of the cases.

The DOJ has since put its full backing behind Halligan. Bondi attempted to ratify and then re-ratify the indictments after the fact, a move Currie suggested would not have been necessary if Halligan were a valid appointee.

FEDERAL JUDGE VOICES DOUBT ABOUT TRUMP APPOINTEE’S ABILITY TO CHARGE COMEY, JAMES

DOJ attorney Henry Whitaker argued during the hearing that the motions to dismiss Comey’s and James’ cases involved “at best a paperwork error,” unworthy of dismissing charges over.

James’ attorney Abbe Lowell said Halligan was a “private person” when she entered the grand jury rooms and completely unauthorized to be in them. Currie agreed, saying that retroactively validating Halligan and her actions would be unheard of.

“The implications of a contrary conclusion are extraordinary,” Currie wrote. “It would mean the Government could send any private citizen off the street — attorney or not — into the grand jury room to secure an indictment so long as the Attorney General gives her approval after the fact. That cannot be the law.”

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Comey praised the judge’s decision in a social media video.

“I am grateful the Court ended the case against me, which was a prosecution based on malevolence and incompetence, and a reflection of what the Justice Department has become under Donald Trump, which is heartbreaking,” Comey said.

Leavitt told Fox News that “maybe James Comey should pump the brakes on his victory lap” in light of the DOJ’s anticipated appeal.

Democratic veterans in Congress who released a video telling servicemembers they can refuse unlawful orders were ripped by Republicans, including by an Air Force veteran who pointed out how former President Joe Biden’s Pentagon discharged 8,700 servicemembers for refusing vaccine mandates.

Sens. Mark Kelly of Arizona and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, along with Reps. Chrissy Houlahan and Chris Deluzio of Pennsylvania, Jason Crow of Colorado and Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire appeared in a video that informed servicemembers they could refuse unlawful orders, ostensibly from President Donald Trump.

Jennifer-Ruth Green, an Iraq War Air Force veteran and former Indiana state official running in her second attempt to oust Rep. Frank Mrvan, D-Ind., slammed her fellow veterans in the video as highly hypocritical. Green is a Republican. 

“I just want to point out that the thousands of service members who refused the ‘illegal order’ from Joe Biden that forced them to get the COVID vaccine were fired without their benefits and Democrats were perfectly okay with it,” Ruth-Green said on X.

GRAHAM DEMANDS DEMOCRATS EXPLAIN ‘REFUSE ILLEGAL ORDERS’ MESSAGE TO TROOPS

She followed up by singling-out Kelly – a retired astronaut and Navy combat pilot – after he appeared with former Rep. Joe Scarborough, R-Fla., longtime host of “Morning Joe” on MS-NOW.

“First, Senator Kelly instructed our military to refuse the president’s orders. Now, he says they should contact their officers if they ‘feel’ an order is illegal,” Green said.

“Stop playing political games with our service members. An order is not illegal just because a politician doesn’t like it.”

TROOPS RISK COURT-MARTIAL IF THEY FOLLOW DEMOCRATS’ ‘ILLEGAL ORDERS’ ADVICE, FORMER MILITARY LAWYERS WARN

After Scarborough had said servicemembers would be “violating their oath” if they followed illegal orders, Kelly replied that they always have the ability to speak with their commanding officer about an order in question.

Kelly said concerned servicemembers can also confer with the Judge Advocate General (JAG) corps; lawyers within the military; on the legality of orders and similar concerns.

About 8,700 servicemembers were affected by then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s order, according to UPI, which reported that Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in April those discharged would be invited to return to duty.

DEM VETERANS BREAK SILENCE AFTER VIRAL VIDEO CAUSES BACKLASH ON SOCIAL MEDIA: ‘FRUSTRATED’

In 2002, Green engineered the closest race for Republicans in the district – covering Democrat-heavy Gary and East Chicago, Ind. — in several decades; losing by six points.

The Kansas Republican Party echoed Green’s sentiments, saying in a statement that “Democrats ‘reminding’ servicemembers members they are allowed to disobey illegal orders with a wink and a nod had no problem forcing those same service members to take the COVID shot and follow orders that supposedly came from a president already exhibiting symptoms of dementia.”

Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., was similarly critical of Democrats’ later response to President Donald Trump’s warning of treason that had led to what Slotkin and others said were threats against them in the aftermath.

SIX DEMOCRATS URGE MILITARY MEMBERS TO ‘REFUSE ILLEGAL ORDERS’ IN VIRAL VIDEO; HEGSETH RESPONDS

“They have engaged in seditious behavior,” Donalds said.

“That mess you heard over there about not being intimidated? No, the seditious behavior came from them when they launched their stupid video that nobody asked for.”

“Mister Crow and Senator Slotkin [are] not the commander-in-chief,” he later added.

DANGEROUS WAR GAMES: TELLING SERVICEMEMBERS TO RESIST TRUMP INVITES PURE CHAOS

Deluzio said that after Trump “called for the arrest and death of me and several of my colleagues” he was “not going to be intimidated” and would continue serving the Allegheny Valley.

When Trump adviser Stephen Miller fired back at Democrats’ statements, Kelly responded directly, saying he had been shot at in combat and was at the Capitol when “your boss sent a violent mob.”

“I know the difference between defending our Constitution and an insurrection, even if you don’t.”

Crow said on social media that it was “telling” to see Trump believe “restat[ing] the law” is “punishable by death.”

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On Monday, the Pentagon announced it was investigating “Capt. Mark Kelly” for allegations of serious misconduct.

Fox News Digital reached out to Kelly, Slotkin and Houlahan for additional comment.

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas voiced disagreement Monday with his colleagues’ decision to reject a widow’s request that the high court consider whether the federal government owes her for her husband’s death.

Thomas said that if the justices had taken up the case, it would have been an opportunity to rein in a decades-old precedent that says servicemembers’ families cannot file wrongful death lawsuits against the government if the victim was killed while performing his or her job duties.

“We should have granted certiorari. Doing so would have provided clarity about [Feres v. United States] to lower courts that have long asked for it,” Thomas wrote.

TRUMP’S PRESIDENCY FACES CRUCIAL TESTS AS SUPREME COURT BEGINS PIVOTAL TERM

The case centered on Air Force Staff Sergeant Cameron Beck, who was killed in 2021. Beck had been leaving a military base in Missouri on his motorcycle to meet his wife and then seven-year-old for lunch when a civilian government employee, distracted by her cell phone, struck Beck. He died on the scene, and the woman later admitted in a plea deal to causing the accident.

When Beck’s widow tried to sue the government for her husband’s death, a federal court rejected the claim, as did the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Both cited the Feres case, finding that the United States was immunized from such lawsuits because Beck was in the military.

Thomas said Feres should be overturned and that, in any case, the lower courts took a far too expansive view of it in Beck’s widow’s lawsuit. Beck was not performing any military service and was completely off duty at the time, Thomas said. Normally, that would be an “open and shut” wrongful death case, he said.

SCOTUS ALLOWS TRUMP TO FIRE BIDEN-APPOINTED FTC COMMISSIONER

“If the Court does not want to overrule its precedents in this area, it should at least be willing to enforce them,” Thomas wrote.

Thomas said Beck “was not ordered on a military mission to go home for lunch with his family. So Mrs. Beck should have prevailed under Feres.”

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Four justices must support taking up a petition for the Supreme Court to do so. Justice Sonia Sotomayor said in a statement she supported rejecting the application, but she explained that she felt Congress needed to adjust the laws to override current precedents.

“I write … to underscore that this important issue deserves further congressional attention, without which Feres will continue to produce deeply unfair results like the one in this case and the others discussed in Justice Thomas’s dissenting opinion,” Sotomayor wrote.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday aimed at bolstering U.S. artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives as it unveiled its new “Genesis Mission” to accelerate AI use for scientific purposes. 

The “Genesis Mission” will direct the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and their national labs to work with private companies to share federal data sets, advanced supercomputing capabilities, and scientific facilities. 

TRUMP, MCCORMICK TO UNVEIL $90B ENERGY AND INNOVATION INVESTMENT IN PENNSYLVANIA

“The private sector has launched artificial intelligence at huge scale, but with a little bit different focus – on language, on business, on processes, on consumer services,” Secretary of Energy Chris Wright told reporters Monday. “What we’re doing here is just pivoting those efforts to focus on scientific discovery, engineering advancements. And to do that, you need the data sets that are contained across our national labs.” 

Additionally, the executive order instructs the Department of Energy and national labs to create an integrated platform aimed at expediting scientific discovery, in an attempt to connect AI capability with scientists, engineers, technical staff, and the labs’ scientific instruments, according to a White House official.

AI LAWNMOWERS CUT GRASS — AND POTENTIALLY COSTS — IN NATIONAL MALL TEST RUN 

Trump hinted an effort like this was in the works during the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum Wednesday in Washington, where he said the U.S. would work “to build the largest, most powerful, most innovative AI ecosystem in the world.”

The effort comes after Trump issued an AI policy document called “Winning the Race: America’s AI Action Plan” in July. The document laid out a framework focused on accelerating AI innovation, ensuring the U.S. is the leader in international AI diplomacy and security, and using the private sector to help build up and operate AI infrastructure. 

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE DRIVES DEMAND FOR ELECTRIC GRID UPDATE

Meanwhile, the Trump administration is also currently considering other executive orders pertaining to AI, and more executive orders could be on the horizon. 

For example, Fox News Digital previously reported that the White House was gearing up an executive order instructing the Justice Department to sue states that adopt their own laws regulating AI. 

Trump appeared to address the initiative at the U.S-Saudi Investment Forum as well, claiming that a series of AI regulations imposed at the state level would prove a “disaster.”

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“And we are going to work it so that you’ll have a one approval process to not have to go through 50 states,” Trump said. 

Fox News’ Amanda Macias and Dennis Collins contributed to this report. 

The Justice Department asked a federal judge to unseal grand jury materials and lift protective orders in the Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell cases after President Donald Trump signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

Signed by Trump on Nov. 19, 2025, the law requires Attorney General Pam Bondi to release all unclassified records, communications and investigative materials related to Epstein within 30 days.

The order allows limited redactions for victim privacy or to protect active investigations, but those must be narrowly tailored and justified in the Federal Register.

The department asked the court to expedite the unsealing of grand jury transcripts and exhibits and to modify orders that block public release of discovery materials.

TRUMP CALLS ON HOUSE REPUBLICANS TO VOTE TO RELEASE EPSTEIN FILES: ‘WE HAVE NOTHING TO HIDE’

It argued that Congress explicitly authorized disclosure under the law, overriding the secrecy of grand jury proceedings outlined in the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. The law, the DOJ said, also supersedes earlier court rulings that denied unsealing.

The judge in the Maxwell case set a briefing schedule Monday, ordering Maxwell to file her position by Dec. 3. He also directed prosecutors to notify victims, who may submit letters to the court by the same date.

The government has until Dec. 10 to respond, and the judge will rule afterward, though he has not set a specific date. The judge has acknowledged the law’s 30-day release deadline for Bondi.

REPS. MASSIE, KHANNA SOUND OFF ON WHETHER GHISLAINE MAXWELL SHOULD RECEIVE PARDON, BLAST MIKE JOHNSON

The House voted 421-1 last Tuesday to release the files after months of pressure from Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Ro Khanna, D-Calif. Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., cast the lone “no” vote, saying the bill “reveals and injures thousands of innocent people — witnesses, people who provided alibis, family members, etc.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., supported the measure but voiced similar concerns. The Senate passed the bill hours later by unanimous consent.

Trump signed the law amid renewed scrutiny of his past association with Epstein after the Justice Department and FBI said in July they would not unseal related materials, citing the case’s closure.

KHANNA, MASSIE, GREENE URGE SENATE TO PASS EPSTEIN BILL UNCHANGED, WARN OF ‘RECKONING’

The law directs the department to release all unclassified records related to Epstein and Maxwell, as well as files referencing individuals in Epstein’s prior cases, trafficking allegations, internal communications and details about his death.

Files containing victims’ names, child sexual abuse material, classified content or information that could affect active investigations may be withheld or redacted.

Bondi said Wednesday she would comply with the law, which requires the department to post the files online in a searchable format within 30 days.

VIRGINIA GIUFFRE’S MEMOIR RECOUNTS RAPE BY FORMER PRIME MINISTER; EPSTEIN’S TIES TO BILL CLINTON, TRUMP

The release has drawn strong interest from Trump supporters who have urged the department to disclose Epstein’s alleged “client list” and details of his death.

While the documents are authentic, Epstein’s statements in the emails remain unverified. They do not allege wrongdoing by Trump and only reference him in passing.

Trump has not been formally accused of misconduct related to Epstein, and no law enforcement records link him to Epstein’s crimes.

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Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges. Maxwell was later convicted of similar offenses and is serving a 20-year sentence.

Fox News’ Diana Stancy and Emma Colton contributed to this report.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi demanded legal action Monday against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, speaking at an event in Memphis where she was highlighting the work of the city’s “Safe Task Force.”

Bondi’s comments came after U.S. District Judge Cameron Currie dismissed the criminal indictments against Comey and James, and ruled that the prosecutor who brought the cases, Lindsey Halligan, had not been lawfully appointed.

The judge agreed with Comey’s defense, which argued that Halligan’s appointment as interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia was invalid, meaning the indictments were defective.

COMEY AND JAMES CHALLENGE TRUMP APPOINTEE’S LEGITIMACY IN FEDERAL COURT HEARING

“We’ll be taking all available legal action, including an immediate appeal, to hold Letitia James and James Comey accountable for their unlawful conduct,” Bondi told reporters.

“I’m not worried about someone who has been charged with a very serious crime,” she continued. “His alleged actions were a betrayal of public trust,” Bondi added.

Comey was indicted in September 2025 on charges of making false statements to Congress and obstructing a congressional inquiry. This stemmed from his 2018 testimony about the origins of the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane investigation.

DOJ DEFENDS TRUMP TRUTH SOCIAL POST AS COMEY SEEKS TO HAVE CASE DISMISSED

This was the probe into possible ties between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia.

Comey has denied any wrongdoing, maintaining that his statements were “truthful to the best of my recollection” and calling the case “a political hit job, not a pursuit of justice.”

Letitia James was separately indicted in October 2025 on mortgage and bank-fraud counts, accused of misrepresenting a Virginia home purchase as a secondary residence in 2020 to secure more favorable loan terms.

Prosecutors allege she benefited by nearly $19,000 over the life of the loan.

JAMES COMEY SEEKS TO DISMISS HIS CRIMINAL CASE, CITING ‘VINDICTIVE’ PROSECUTION

Defense teams for both Comey and James have argued that the prosecutions were flawed, citing procedural irregularities and Halligan’s disputed appointment.

Halligan, a former Trump legal aide, was the only federal prosecutor to sign Comey’s indictment, acting as United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.

On Monday in Memphis, Bondi acknowledged Halligan, defending her credentials and role.

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“We have made Lindsay Halligan a special US attorney so she is in court, she can fight in court just like she was, and we believe we will be successful on appeal,” Bondi said.

“And I’ll tell you, Lindsay Halligan, I talked to all of our US attorneys, the majority of them around the country, and Lindsay Halligan is an excellent US attorney. And shame on them for not wanting her in office. Thank you,” she added.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday directing Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to begin designating certain chapters of the Muslim Brotherhood as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists.

The order, invoking the Immigration and Nationality Act and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, cites the group’s involvement in violence across the Middle East, including rocket attacks on Israel following the Oct. 7, 2023, assault.

The move begins a 30-day review led by the State and Treasury Departments to identify Brotherhood chapters in Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon for possible designation, which could freeze assets, restrict travel, and criminalize material support for affiliated entities.

“The Muslim Brotherhood, founded in Egypt in 1928, has developed into a transnational network with chapters across the Middle East and beyond,” Trump’s executive order reads. “Relevant here, its chapters in Lebanon, Jordan, and Egypt engage in or facilitate and support violence and destabilization campaigns that harm their own regions, United States citizens, and United States interests.

TRUMP RE-DESIGNATES IRANIAN-BACKED HOUTHIS AS TERRORISTS: ‘THREATEN[S] SECURITY OF AMERICAN CIVILIANS’

“For example, in the aftermath of the October 7, 2023, attack in Israel, the military wing of the Lebanese chapter of the Muslim Brotherhood joined Hamas, Hezbollah, and Palestinian factions to launch multiple rocket attacks against both civilian and military targets within Israel,” the order continues. “A senior leader of the Egyptian chapter of the Muslim Brotherhood, on October 7, 2023, called for violent attacks against United States partners and interests, and Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood leaders have long provided material support to the militant wing of Hamas.

“Such activities threaten the security of American civilians in the Levant and other parts of the Middle East, as well as the safety and stability of our regional partners,” the order noted.

GOP BILL SEEKS TO BAN AND DEPORT VISA HOLDERS WHO SUPPORT HAMAS AMID WAVE OF ANTISEMITIC VIOLENCE IN AMERICA

Trump signaled over the weekend that he was planning to designate the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization after several groups stepped up warnings in recent months that the Islamic group was gaining a foothold in the U.S.

“It will be done in the strongest and most powerful terms,” Trump told Just the News over the weekend. “Final documents are being drawn.”

The president’s comment came shortly after Texas declared the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization and just days after the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP), a prominent global research center, released a comprehensive 200-page study warning of the Muslim Brotherhood’s growing influence in the U.S.

The Islamist organization founded in Egypt, has gained access to government agencies, been involved in advising American civil rights policy, infiltrated educational institutions, and created a vast social media footprint, the report states, while outlining the belief that the group has allegedly targeted U.S. government agencies for infiltration, including the State Department, Department of Homeland Security, and Department of Justice, through career appointments and advisory roles.

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“We welcome President Trump’s statements and the growing recognition that the Muslim Brotherhood, its ideology and network pose a serious challenge to the United States and democratic societies,” Charles Asher Small, executive director of ISGAP, said in a press release after Trump’s interview with Just the News.

Fox News Digital’s Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, a Republican whose county neighbors New York City, said that he is directing authorities to install cameras and security technology along the border with the city in light of the election of Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani.

In an interview with Fox News Digital, Blakeman, who was just re-elected earlier this month to serve a second term in the majority blue county, said he will be taking extra precautions to preserve law and order in Nassau County in light of the socialist mayor-elect, Mamdani.

“We are doing everything necessary to make sure that Nassau County is safe,” he said. “We are installing technology along the border of New York City that will read license plates, that will have facial recognition, that will have video cameras.”

He also stated that the county is hiring new police officers in addition to its existing force and the 100 police cadets currently enrolled in the Nassau County Police Academy.

NYC SUBURB OFFICIAL REVEALS HOW ICE PARTNERSHIP HAS FLIPPED SCRIPT ON CRIME AS MAMDANI VICTORY LOOMS

“Our cops are doing a great job, and I’m going to continue to give them the personnel and the resources, technology and equipment and training that will now allow them to combat any situation that would jeopardize the security and safety of our communities here in Nassau County,” he said.

Meanwhile, Blakeman said Mamdani “talks like he’s pro-criminal, not pro-victim.”

While Republicans in Virginia, New Jersey and New York suffered electoral defeats earlier this month, Blakeman won his race by close to 12 percentage points. He beat out a Democrat in a county with over 100,000 more registered Democrats than Republicans.

He attributes this victory to leaning into his messages on improving public safety and affordability, which he said resonates with all demographics. He did not even shy away from his condemnation of New York sanctuary policies and the county’s partnership with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

NEW YORK LEADER PLEDGES MORE COPS, TOUGHER ICE PARTNERSHIP IF NYC ELECTS SOCIALIST MAYOR

“New York State was an area that was safe, and I think basically that’s what the people are craving,” he explained.

“I never ran away from my pro-Trump policies. I supported the president, and I continue to support the president. People respected me for that, even if they disagree, because they knew that I wasn’t a phony. And yet, at the same time, what I was doing on parallel tracks is reaching out to the communities … and let them know that I am a county executive for all people, so I’m going to continue to make their neighborhoods safer. I’m going to keep taxes down.”

“Our campaign appealed to the independent voters and crossover Democrats,” he explained. “That’s why I think we were a bright star on an otherwise dark night on election night.”

This law-and-order message stands in stark contrast with Mamdani’s history of comments calling the police racist, anti-queer and a public safety threat. Though Mamdani walked back those statements during his campaign, his proposal to replace law enforcement officers with mental health workers has raised concerns about a further deepening of crime in New York City.

MAMDANI TAKES AIM AT TRUMP’S IMMIGRATION POLICIES IN FIERY STATEN ISLAND SPEECH: ‘WE ARE FIGHTING TO KEEP NYC A SANCTUARY CITY’

While New York swings to the left, Blakeman said his approach counters the momentum around Mamdani’s socialist policy proposals.

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“Right now, I see his values as anti-American,” he said. “So, I have a lot of issues with Mamdani.”

“We built the greatest economic city in the world, with the financial capital of the world being in New York City. His policies will probably destroy that,” he went on, adding that if people are leaving New York City, “They’re welcome to come to Nassau County, where it’s safe and affordable.”

Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, Capitol Hill and more Fox News politics content. Here’s what’s happening…

-Pentagon threatens to court martial Democratic senator over ‘refuse illegal orders’ video

-Trump’s main DOGE office shutters — but its war on government waste isn’t over

-Firm that propelled Mamdani to victory in NY looks to unseat House GOP members in PA

Federal judge dismisses James Comey, Letitia James indictments

A federal judge threw out the indictments against James Comey and Letitia James on Monday, finding they were illegitimate because they were brought by an unqualified U.S. attorney.

Judge Cameron Currie dismissed the false statements charges against Comey and bank fraud charges against James without prejudice, meaning the charges could be brought again.

“I conclude that the Attorney General’s attempt to install Ms. Halligan as Interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia was invalid and that Ms. Halligan has been unlawfully serving in that role since September 22, 2025,” Currie wrote…READ MORE.

White House

CHA-CHING, USA!: Lutnick expects Supreme Court to side with Trump on tariffs, opening door to $2K payouts

‘RECORD SETTING’: Trump says those against tariffs ‘serving hostile foreign interests,’ ‘full benefit’ yet to be seen

TERROR FOILED: ‘People would have died’: Inside the FBI’s Halloween takedown that exposed a global terror network

GLOBAL WARNING: Trump signals plan to designate Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization 

World Stage

MINERAL WARFARE: From Mojave to Beijing: how America quietly conceded the rare earth race

IMPORT ALERT: ‘Made in China?’ House panel demands Amazon come clean on product origins

OPEN COMMUNICATION: Trump speaks with Chinese President Xi, White House official confirms

Capitol Hill

DOUBLE STANDARD: Dems fine firing troops over Biden’s vax order but furious over Trump ‘treason’ talk, GOP vet says

COST-CUTTING TIME: Mike Johnson says House GOP working full steam ahead on Trump’s ‘affordability agenda’

NO CASH FOR CHAOS: GOP senator calls Mamdani’s Netanyahu arrest vow a ‘grave threat’ as he introduces defund bill

DEAL MAKER WINS: How one Alabama senator’s quiet diplomacy helped end the longest shutdown in US history

Across America 

BACK TO REALITY: Mamdani pledges NYC to remain sanctuary city after chummy Trump meeting

MAP WARS: Deep-pocketed conservative group once at odds with Trump now all-in to ‘help him win’

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

America’s ranchers are facing their smallest cattle herd in 70 years.

Years of punishing drought, rising costs and an aging ranching workforce have thinned herds across the country. Ranchers and agricultural economists alike say rebuilding will take years and beef prices aren’t likely to ease anytime soon.

“The biggest thing has been drought,” said Eric Belasco, head of the agricultural economics department at Montana State University.

BEEF PRICES ARE CLOSE TO RECORD HIGHS — BUT AMERICANS AREN’T CUTTING BACK

He said years of dry weather have wiped out grasslands across the West and Plains, leaving ranchers without enough feed or water to sustain their herds. Many have been forced to sell cattle early, even the cows needed to produce the next generation of calves, making it hard to rebuild. 

“It’s not going to be a quick fix, you’re not going to solve it overnight,” Belasco told Fox News Digital. 

Belasco said the aftereffects of years of drought are still being felt and until ranchers can rebuild their herds, consumers will keep paying the price.

“The primary reason you see prices so high is because we haven’t seen any kind of inventory rebuilding,” he said. “Until you see that rebuild, you probably won’t see prices coming back down again.”

That slow rebuilding is a challenge for the cattle industry, according to Derrell Peel, a professor of agricultural economics at Oklahoma State University.

“The fact of the matter is there’s really nothing anybody can do to change this very quickly,” Peel said. “We’re in a tight supply situation that took several years to develop, and it’ll take several years to get out of it.”

Peel, who specializes in livestock marketing, said there’s no quick way to ease pressure on beef prices, since it takes roughly two years to bring animals to market and several years to rebuild herds.

TRUMP’S BEEF IMPORT PLAN IGNORES KEY ISSUE SQUEEZING AMERICAN CATTLE RANCHERS

Even as ranchers wait for herds to recover, parched conditions are working against them, turning pastures to dust and feed into a luxury. 

Research from the Kansas City Federal Reserve found that with each step up in drought severity, cattle-producing regions see about a 12% drop in hay production, a 5% rise in hay prices, a 1% reduction in herd size and a 4% decrease in farm income.

To cope, many ranchers are shrinking their herds. A 2022 Farm Bureau survey found that about two in three ranchers have sold animals off, leaving them with roughly one-third fewer cattle than before.

Few people see the challenges of ranching more clearly than Cole Bolton, owner of K&C Cattle Company, whose pastures stretch along the soft edge of the Texas Hill Country.

“I think it’s going to take a while to fix this crisis that we’re in with the cattle shortage. My message to consumers is simple, folks, be patient. We’ve got to build back our herds,” Bolton told Fox News Digital.

Bolton said the region, known for its red dirt and family-run ranches, has gone nearly three months without rain. While showers were finally arriving, he noted that the cattle industry has weathered one setback after another, from market turmoil to extreme conditions, over the past five years.

The growing strain highlights how persistent drought is reshaping the ranching industry and tightening the nation’s livestock supply.

That pressure is being felt not just on ranches but also at the grocery store.

According to USDA data, the average retail price of beef rose from about $8.51 a pound in August 2024 to $9.85 a pound a year later, a gain of roughly 16%. 

The “5-market steer price” represents what ranchers earn for live cattle before they’re processed into meat. The “farm-to-retail” spread reflects everything that happens after that – the costs and profits tied to slaughtering, processing, packaging, shipping and selling beef in stores.

Much of that work — and the profits it generates — are concentrated among the industry’s “big four” meatpackers: Tyson Foods, JBS, Cargill and National Beef.

Together, these data points show that while ranchers are earning slightly more for their cattle than they were a few years ago, the biggest price increases are happening well after the animals leave the pasture.

Despite the markups between the ranch and the grocery store, demand hasn’t wavered. Americans are still buying beef more than ever.

Beef remains the dominant player in the fresh-meat aisle, with $44.3 billion in sales over the past year, a 12% increase that outpaced chicken, pork and turkey, according to Beef Research, a contractor to the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.

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Glynn Tonsor, a professor of agricultural economics at Kansas State University, told Fox News Digital that strong consumer demand will continue to drive beef prices higher.

“There’s nothing that forces me or you or anybody else when we go into the grocery store to pay more for beef. People are choosing to,” he said. “The consumer desire for beef is strong and, regardless of the supply-side situation, that has the effect of pulling prices up.”

One Senate Republican proved that it’s still possible to bridge the chasm between the aisles after brokering an end to the longest government shutdown in history.

The 43-day impasse in Congress may have ended in the House, but it was in the Senate that Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., worked to build an old-fashioned bipartisan coalition to jump-start the stalled chamber.

It took several weeks, numerous conversations and reconstructing broken trust between Senate Republicans and Democrats to pull off what would become a bipartisan package to reopen the government.

HOW CLOSED-DOOR NEGOTIATIONS AND A GUARANTEE ENDED LONGEST GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN ON RECORD 

And it was something that Britt, in an interview with Fox News Digital, contended she was uniquely positioned to do.

She was chief of staff for former Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., and knew how the sausage was made in the upper chamber. She also had longstanding relationships with some of the key Democratic negotiators, like Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., who ultimately joined most Republicans to reopen the government.

For Britt, who chairs the Homeland Security Appropriations Committee, the key to reopening the government was funding the government through spending bills.

“I’m very grateful for those on the other side of the aisle that had the courage to step forward and say, you know, we’re not going to allow everyday Americans to suffer as a result of keeping this government closed,” she said. “I do think what we saw was a lot of people that were listening to their political consultants instead of the actual constituency that they serve.”

“Because clearly, I think a lot of people had lost sight of the fact that we were in this place because we hadn’t passed appropriations bills,” Britt continued.

SENATE REACHES TEMPORARY TRUCE TO END RECORD SHUTDOWN, BUT JANUARY BATTLE LOOMS

During the last session of Congress, the chambers were split. Republicans held a tenuous grip on the House while Schumer and Senate Democrats controlled the Senate. Many of the spending bills produced by the House were often partisan, while the bipartisan bills crafted in the Senate never made it to the floor.

“If you look back over Senator Schumer’s tenure as leader and over the last two years, he didn’t even put one bill on the floor last year, which is what led us to this posture of a CR to start with,” she said.

Britt believed that at least moving a trio of spending bills could perhaps unstick the gears in the Senate and get lawmakers closer to ending the shutdown. Whether that package of bills could end up attached to legislation to reopen the government, however, remained elusive.

While she lauded both Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., for their roles in ensuring the funding process actually worked, her role as de facto arbiter began roughly three weeks before the shutdown ended.

One of the main issues before and throughout the shutdown was a lack of trust that Senate Democrats had in Republicans, an issue that was reaffirmed when the GOP voted to claw back billions in congressionally approved funding earlier in the year.

That trust issue was further solidified due to a lack of commitments from Republicans to prevent the Trump administration from continuing to carve away at federal funding with impoundments and rescissions.

And the key moment that saw the wheels begin to move in the direction of reopening came when Senate Democrats blocked the Defense appropriations bill, which would have paid service members among a plethora of other things.

SENATE DEMOCRATS CAVE, OPEN PATH TO REOPENING GOVERNMENT

“The question that I had for each of them, you know, why? This came out of committee in a bipartisan way, and it was clear, they wanted greater conversation around how we were planning on moving these things forward,” she said.

It was from those informal talks that she leaned into speaking with more Democratic lawmakers to try and assuage their concerns about what would happen during and after the spending bills were passed. Those conversations brought her all the way to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., on whether he would approve of the appropriations process moving forward.

“Taking a cue from that is why I really leaned into conversations, both with people that I believed were gettable in finding a pathway forward on reopening the government and those who were not,” she said. “You know, just saying, like, ‘Look, guys, here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to work to fund these three bills. And if we do that, you know, here will be the ultimate result of it.’”

But, as with any successful legislation, there’s always a numbers game.

Not every Senate Republican was in favor of reopening the government, or at least the vehicle to do so, a point Britt reiterated often. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., had consistently voted against the House-passed bill until that point.

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So that meant she needed to find the numbers elsewhere across the aisle. Shaheen, who was leading negotiations for Senate Democrats, largely had her numbers in check, but there was one more that needed an extra nudge: Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va.

Over the course of 48 hours, the weekend of the penultimate vote to seal the deal in the Senate, Kaine went from being against the package to supporting it. Britt acted as a liaison to the White House, bringing Kaine’s demands that the administration roll back firings carried out during the shutdown and provide protections to federal workers, which the administration ultimately agreed to.

But ending the shutdown was the first hurdle. Lawmakers now have until Jan. 30, 2026, to fund the government. Britt said she would keep doing what she’s been doing: talking to the other side.

“I am hopeful that people will remember what we’re supposed to be doing, and that is working to pass these bills,” she said. “And I am sure that there will be challenges in front of us, but you know, having dialogue and working to break the logjam will be essential when it does occur to keep America moving.”

EXCLUSIVE: The Club for Growth says it has President Donald Trump‘s back as the president pushes Republican-controlled states to redraw congressional maps in order to create more right-leaning districts to help defend the GOP’s fragile House majority in next year’s midterm elections.

“We’re all in on helping Republicans do redistricting,” David McIntosh, longtime president of the deep-pocketed and influential conservative group, said in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital.

McIntosh highlighted that the Club for Growth’s seven-figure efforts “give Republicans a better shot at winning those extra districts.”

The push by the Club is the latest example of its strong support for the president and his policies, just two years after the group worked to prevent Trump from winning the 2024 Republican presidential nomination amid a bitter feud.

TRUMP TARGETS RED STATE REPUBLICAN LAWMAKERS IN PUSH FOR CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING

Trump and his political team are aiming to pad the GOP’s razor-thin House majority to keep control of the chamber in next year’s midterms, when the party in power traditionally faces political headwinds and loses seats.

Trump is trying to prevent what happened during his first term in the White House when Democrats reclaimed the House majority in the 2018 midterm elections.

Texas was the first Republican-controlled state to pass rare but not-unheard-of mid-decade congressional redistricting, although a ruling by two federal judges threatens to overturn the redrawn map. Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio have also drawn new maps as part of the president’s push.

Indiana, where McIntosh served three terms as a congressman 25 years ago, is the latest battlefield in the high-stakes redistricting showdown pitting Trump and Republicans versus Democrats to shape the 2026 midterm landscape in the fight for the House majority.

TRUMP TURNS UP HEAT ON FELLOW REPUBLICANS IN PUSH TO REDRAW CONGRESSIONAL MAPS AHEAD OF MIDTERMS

“Democrats for years have gerrymandered and Republicans have not, and now it’s time so we can have Republicans in Congress for states like my home state of Indiana, step up to the plate, draw the district, so Republicans can be represented,” McIntosh argued.

Trump has threatened to back primary challenges against Republican state lawmakers in Indiana who are reluctant to pass redistricting.

“I was delighted to see President Trump calling them to do it. And you know, he said, we’re going to start endorsing against you if you don’t do what’s right for the Republican Party and for the nation. Club for Growth will be there to back up his endorsements,” McIntosh said.

And the Club’s political arm, the Club for Growth Action super PAC, which is one of the biggest spenders in Republican primary showdowns thanks to the support of top-dollar conservative donors, is running ads to support the president’s push in right-leaning states across the country.

“We’re way over seven figures when you put together all the different states. And what we’re doing is running ads. We have a new ad today that talks about the need for redistricting,” McIntosh revealed. “We have a program that brings constituent calls into the Senate members, and so they get to hear directly from their voters that they want them to do this.”

It’s not just redistricting.

The Club is spending seven figures in next week’s hotly contested special election for a Republican-controlled vacant House seat in a solidly red congressional district in Tennessee.

“Matt Epps is going to win,” McIntosh said as he pointed to the Trump-endorsed GOP nominee in the race to succeed former Republican Rep. Mark Green, who resigned from office in June to take a private sector job.

“It’s going to be a hard race. They all are, but he’s going to win that race because he’s more in line with Tennessee,” McIntosh said of Van Epps. “I’m confident of him, and we’re going to help him do it.”

SCOOP: TRUMP-ALIGNED MAGA INC. JUMPS INTO HIGH STAKES BALLOT BOX CONGRESSIONAL SHOWDOWN

And looking ahead to next year’s midterms, McIntosh shared that the Club has “already started raising a $40 million fund to keep the House majority, and we’re about 25 million into it.”

“I’m going to keep going, and then we’ll deploy that to make sure Republicans can keep the majority,” he emphasized.

And as they’ve done in the past, the Club, which pushes a fiscally conservative agenda, including a focus on tax cuts and other economic issues, will once again play an influential role in GOP primaries.

“We’re interviewing a lot of candidates now. We’re going to look for the strongest conservative candidate, somebody who wants to continue the economic progress, less regulation, lower taxes, balance the budget, the things that will make America great,” McIntosh said. “And then when we endorse them, we’ll come in with our funding to pay for ads. We’ll recruit and help them raise money. It’s important we get the right Republicans in these primaries, and there are a lot of open seats.”

TOP CONSERVATIVE GROUP VOWS TO ‘WORK CLOSELY’ WITH TRUMP

Democrats are energized coming out of their party’s sweeping victories earlier this month in the 2026 elections.

“Democrats have racked up wins this year by running on affordability and lowering costs, and headed into 2026 our momentum continues to build,” CJ Warnke, communications director for the Democrat-aligned House Majority PAC told Fox News Digital.

Warnke predicted, “As Trump’s poll numbers on the economy continue to plummet and voters see him prioritizing the elite over lowering prices, his broken promises will sink House Republicans. No Republican-held seat is safe, and HMP will do whatever it takes to win the House in 2026.”

McIntosh sees the 2025 elections as “a warning sign, a wake-up call for two things.”

“One, we got to get our voters out, and that’s the job of the party and Club for Growth and groups like us,” McIntosh noted.

But he added that “the party has to explain how our agenda makes life more affordable, how we can lower your insurance costs by forcing the insurance industry to tell you how much they’re charging. We can lower housing by getting rid of all sorts of regulation.”

McIntosh and the Club have had an up-and-down relationship with the president. They opposed Trump as he ran for the White House in 2016 before embracing him as an ally. In the 2022 cycle, Trump and the Club teamed up in some high-profile GOP primaries but clashed over combustible Senate nomination battles in Alabama, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

The Club was on the outs with Trump as the 2024 Republican presidential nomination race got underway. Trump repeatedly criticized McIntosh and the Club, referring to them as “The Club for NO Growth,” and claimed they were “an assemblage of political misfits, globalists, and losers.”

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However, Trump and McIntosh made peace in early 2024, with Trump saying as he was wrapping up the GOP presidential nomination, that they were “back in love” after the protracted falling out.

Asked about the Club’s relationship with Trump, McIntosh said, “We’re right there with the President, especially in these races … Club for Growth is very aligned with President Trump, and we’re especially in these contested races, we’re going to help him win.”

The Department of Government Efficiency’s centralized office has shuttered, but federal agencies’ individual DOGE teams that work to weed out potential mismanagement and corruption are still in full operation, Fox News Digital learned.

“President Trump was given a clear mandate to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse across the federal government, and he continues to actively deliver on that commitment,” White House spokeswoman Liz Huston told Fox News Digital Monday when asked about DOGE’s current status. 

Reuters first reported that DOGE no longer existed after speaking with Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Kupor earlier in November.  

“That doesn’t exist,” Kupor was quoted as telling the outlet. 

DOGE ENDS 108 ‘WASTEFUL’ CONTRACTS, INCLUDING FOR AN ‘EXECUTIVE TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP TRAINING PROGRAM’

The administration official clarified on X that DOGE’s policies are “alive and well,” adding that the outlet “spliced my full comments across paragraphs 2/3 to create a grabbing headline.”

“The truth is: DOGE may not have centralized leadership under @USDS. But, the principles of DOGE remain alive and well: de-regulation; eliminating fraud, waste and abuse; re-shaping the federal workforce; making efficiency a first class citizen; etc. DOGE catalyzed these changes; the agencies along with  @USOPM and @WHOMB will institutionalize them!” he posted. 

The White House explained to Fox News Digital that individual teams established at federal agencies are still in full operation, while DOGE’s central office has shuttered.

Fox News Digital did not immediately receive comment on when the office officially shuttered and what sparked the closure months ahead of schedule. 

Inception and investigations 

Trump established DOGE under a January executive order that renamed the United States Digital Service — which was founded in 2014 by former President Barack Obama as a technology office within the Executive Office of the President — to the United States DOGE Service. 

Trump’s executive order stated DOGE would continue until July 4, 2026. The executive order included charging agency chiefs with creating their own DOGE teams to find and eliminate overspending or fraud — teams that are still in operation. 

ELON MUSK’S OFFICIAL ROLE AT TRUMP’S DOGE ENDS, BUT HIS POLITICAL IMPACT LINGERS AHEAD OF MIDTERMS

Tech billionaire Elon Musk was the public face of DOGE for months of the administration, serving in the role until May, when fireworks flew between the Trump ally and President Donald Trump over the “big beautiful bill.” 

Musk lambasted the legislation as “outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination,” while Trump accused the billionaire of lashing out over the bill’s cuts to electrical vehicle mandates. Musk is the CEO of electric vehicle company Tesla. 

Trump signed the massive piece of legislation into law on the Fourth of July while championing it would advance his agenda on taxes, immigration, energy, defense and the national debt.

Musk was brought into the DOGE role as a special government employee, meaning he could only serve in the job for 130 days. While Musk has been the public face of DOGE for months, he was not an employee of the United States DOGE Service and did not report to the acting DOGE administrator, Amy Gleason, according to a court filing previously reported by Fox Digital in March. 

Democrats and federal employees have railed against DOGE since its inception, and subsequent investigations and mass terminations at various agencies got underway, including staging protests outside federal buildings in Washington, D.C., and specifically protesting Musk for his involvement with DOGE. 

PROTESTERS RALLY AGAINST TRUMP, MUSK IN ‘HANDS OFF!’ GATHERINGS NATIONWIDE

DOGE’s website touts, as of Monday morning, that it has saved $214 billion via “asset sales, contract/lease cancellations and renegotiations, fraud and improper payment deletion, grant cancellations, interest savings, programmatic changes, regulatory savings, and workforce reductions.” 

The amount translates to $1,329.19 in savings per taxpayer, according to the website.  

The creation of DOGE was celebrated on the campaign trail as a cornerstone policy for Trump as he looked to slim down the size of the federal government, streamline it and cut potential overspending, fraud and corruption. 

Musk played a key role in campaigning for the Trump ticket in battleground states such as Pennsylvania, where he frequently lamented how the federal government was tied up in red tape that handcuffed the private sector from advancing, pointing to his companies SpaceX and Tesla as prime examples of the government hamstringing the tech sector with regulations. 

“SpaceX had to do this study to see if Starship would hit a shark,” Musk said from the campaign trail of how the government became involved in a SpaceX, studying whether a Starship rocket would hit a whale or shark upon landing. “And I’m like… it’s a big ocean. There are a lot of sharks. It’s not impossible, but it’s very unlikely. So we said, ‘Fine, we’ll do the analysis. Can you give us the shark data?'” 

He said at the time that the National Marine Fisheries Service ordered SpaceX to carry out the study. 

TRUMP’S DOGE EFFICIENCY AGENCY SAYS IT SLASHES $25B IN FEDERAL SPENDING AS REHIRING BEGINS

Trump announced just days after his decisive election win in November 2024 that Musk would lead DOGE alongside former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy — who departed the team at the start of the Trump administration and launched a run for Ohio governor in the 2026 race. 

The president celebrated the office would likely serve as the ‘‘The Manhattan Project’ of our time,” as it eyed driving “large scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to Government never seen before.”

Trump repeatedly celebrated the office during high-profile events after his inauguration, including during his joint address to Congress in March where he rattled off how DOGE investigations uncovered government funding for bizarre initiatives, such as free housing and cars for illegal immigrants that cost $22 billion, “male circumcision in Mozambique,” and “$20 million for the Arab “Sesame Street” in the Middle East.” 

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“Forty-five million dollars for diversity, equity and inclusion scholarships in Burma,” Trump said as he provided examples of federal waste March 4 after thanking Musk and DOGE for its work. “Forty million to improve the social and economic inclusion of sedentary migrants. Nobody knows what that is. Eight million to promote LGBTQI+ in the African nation of Lesotho, which nobody has ever heard of. Sixty million dollars for indigenous peoples and Afro-Colombian empowerment in Central America. Sixty million. Eight million for making mice transgender.”

FIRST ON FOX: A Senate Republican wants to take a legislative shot at New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani and his desire to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Sen. Ted Budd, R-N.C., is introducing legislation that would halt some funding to cities that follow through on any International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant to arrest or detain officials from North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries.

The measure, called the “American Allies Protection Act,” is in direct response to Mamdani doubling down on his vow to arrest Netanyahu. Last year, the ICC issued a warrant for the Israeli prime minister’s arrest that has been heavily scrutinized by lawmakers in the U.S. and abroad.

ADL CHIEF WARNS NYC MAYOR-ELECT ZOHRAN MAMDANI POSES A ‘CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER’ TO JEWISH COMMUNITY

Mamdani reiterated his desire to arrest Netanyahu last week before meeting with President Donald Trump. He told local news station ABC7 that New York City was a “city of international law,” that would uphold the court’s arrest warrants, which accused the Israeli prime minister of intentionally attacking civilians and using starvation as a method of warfare.

“I’ve said time and again that I believe this is a city of international law, and being a city of international law means looking to uphold international law,” he said. “And that means upholding the warrants from the International Criminal Court, whether they’re for Benjamin Netanyahu or Vladimir Putin.”

TRUMP REVEALS ‘ONE THING IN COMMON’ HE HAS WITH MAMDANI AFTER OVAL OFFICE LOVE FEST

Budd charged in a statement to Fox News Digital that the U.S. is “not bound by the morally bankrupt” court, and accused Mamdani’s position and comments of not being based in law but rather a means to “virtue-signal to his radical, anti-Israel base.”

“Mayor-elect Mamdani’s pledge to facilitate the arrest of Benjamin Netanyahu is not just ridiculous; it represents a grave threat that could seriously damage America’s relationship with our closest allies and partners,” Budd said.

LEAVITT DOESN’T MINCE WORDS AHEAD OF MAMDANI-TRUMP MEETING: ‘COMMUNIST COMING TO THE WHITE HOUSE’

His legislation would halt any Department of Justice (DOJ) grants from flowing to any city that cooperates with the court and arrests a NATO or U.S. major non-NATO ally. 

There is an override mechanism built in that would allow the president to end the penalty only if cooperation with the court is deemed necessary for national security.

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Meanwhile, the issue of Netanyahu apparently did not come up during Trump and Mamdani’s confab. When asked if there was discussion of stopping Mamdani from arresting Netanyahu, Trump said the pair, “Didn’t discuss” the matter.