NationalWatch

President Donald Trump’s 25th week back in the Oval Office in his second term is expected to include a trip to Texas to survey the tragedy and damage imposed after floodwaters devastated Hill Country, a third White House meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and ongoing tariff negotiations. 

Flash floods devastate central Texas 

Trump announced Sunday that he signed an emergency order to assist Kerr County, Texas, which was devastated on the Fourth of July by flash floods that have led to dozens of deaths and others missing in the area. 

TEXAS FLOOD SURVIVORS SHARE HARROWING STORIES, SEARCH CONTINUES FOR THOSE STILL MISSING

“I just signed a Major Disaster Declaration for Kerr County, Texas, to ensure that our Brave First Responders immediately have the resources they need,” Trump announced on Truth Social Sunday. “These families are enduring an unimaginable tragedy, with many lives lost, and many still missing. The Trump Administration continues to work closely with State and Local Leaders.” 

“Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem was on the ground yesterday with Governor Greg Abbott, who is working hard to help the people of his Great State,” he added. “Our incredible U.S. Coast Guard, together with State First Responders, have saved more than 850 lives. GOD BLESS THE FAMILIES, AND GOD BLESS TEXAS!” 

Trump told the media he likely will head out to Texas and meet with locals devastated by the flooding and assess the damage later in the week. 

“We wanted to leave a little time,” Trump told reporters Sunday from New Jersey when asked if he planned to visit Texas. “I would have done it today, but we’d just be in their way. Probably Friday.” 

At least 80 people are dead from the flooding, which first gripped the area on the morning of Independence Day, while at least 41 others are still missing as of Monday morning.  

“This was a thing that happened in seconds. Nobody expected it. Nobody saw it. Very talented people are there, and they didn’t see it,” Trump explained. “It’s, I guess they said once in 100 years they’ve never seen anything like that. I mean, people are trying to blame the school. They’re trying to blame the camps. It’s just a horrible thing.”

TRUMP PLEDGES FULL SUPPORT FOR TEXAS AMID CATASTROPHIC FLOODS

Trump called the deadly flooding a “catastrophe.”

“I would just say this is a 100-year catastrophe, and it’s just so horrible to watch,” Trump said.

Netanyahu makes third trip to White House in 2025 

Israel’s Netanyahu will visit with Trump at the White House later Monday to discuss Israel reaching a ceasefire with Gaza.

The meeting comes after the Trump administration collaborated with Israel for the successful strikes on a trio of Iranian nuclear facilities in June. Israel had launched preemptive strikes on Iran in mid-June, launching a “12-day war” between the two nations that ended following the U.S. strikes. 

TRUMP TO MEET WITH NETANYAHU AS HE PUSHES FOR CEASEFIRE BETWEEN ISRAEL, GAZA

Trump’s meeting with Netanyahu comes after he expressed his disapproval with Israel, as well as Iran, after announcing a ceasefire between Israel and Iran June 24 that was followed by the nations continuing to trade strikes. Both countries launched accusations at each other that they had violated the ceasefire before Trump slammed expressed his discontent in comment to the media. 

“I’m not happy with them,” Trump said at the White House June 24. “I’m not happy with Iran either, but I’m really unhappy with Israel going out this morning.”

The ceasefire was upheld.

The Monday meeting is expected to focus on the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, which began on Oct. 7, 2023, and has continued raging despite a previous ceasefire agreement early in 2025. 

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Trump is seeking to resolve the conflict between both Israel and Gaza and secure the release of the remaining American hostages in Gaza. 

“It’s heartbreaking to see the images that have come out from both Israel and Gaza throughout this war,” Leavitt said. “And the president wants to see it end. He wants to save lives and, however, the main priority for the president also remains to bring all of the hostages home out of Gaza. As you know, his tireless effort has brought home many of the hostages, including all of the American hostages who were held there.” 

Tariff negotiations continue 

A 90-day pause on tariffs was set to end July 9, after Trump first announced reciprocal tariffs on foreign nations back in April. Trump told reporters Sunday from New Jersey that his administration will begin sending letters to other nations Monday notifying them that higher tariffs will now take effect Aug. 1. 

“It could be 12, maybe 15” letters, Trump told reporters Sunday. “And we’ve made deals also, so we’re going to have a combination of letters and some deals have been made.”

TARIFFS WILL REVERT TO APRIL LEVELS IF COUNTRIES DON’T MAKE A DEAL BY AUGUST 1, BESSENT SAYS

The ongoing tariff negotiations follow Congress passing Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” which advances the president’s agenda on taxes, immigration, energy, defense and the national debt, and Trump signing it into law Friday. 

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent joined Fox News’ Shannon Bream Sunday and explained the new Aug. 1 deadline, warning that tariffs will revert to April levels if foreign countries don’t make a trade deal by the start of August. 

“Is it fair to say there’s a bit of a pause on the July 9th deadline for some of these trading partners?” Bream asked.

“I don’t think it’s a bit of a pause because I think what’s happened is there’s a lot of congestion going into the home stretch and, as a part of the trade team, what’s great about having President Trump on our side is he’s created maximum leverage,” Bessent responded.

“By telling our trading partners that they could boomerang back to the April 2nd date, I think it’s really going to move things along over the next couple of days and weeks,” he added.

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Fox News Digital’s Diana Stancy, Anders Hagstrom and Stepheny Price contributed to this report. 

California Gov. Gavin Newsom heads to South Carolina this week to spend two days meeting with voters in the state that officially held the first primary in the Democrats’ 2024 calendar.

The trip by the term-limited governor with a large national profile is sure to spark plenty of 2028 speculation, since Newsom is considered a potential contender for the next Democratic presidential nomination.

The South Carolina Democratic Party, which announced the two-day swing, said Newsom will take part Tuesday and Wednesday in meet and greets, to shake hands and take questions, during eight stops in cafes, coffee shops and churches.

TWENTY-ONE DEMOCRATS WHO MAY WANT TO RUN FOR THE WHITE HOUSE IN 2028

“The SCDP presents On The Road with Gavin Newsom. We’re making stops across the state to talk with families all over SC. It’s your chance to connect, be heard, and feel seen,” the state party wrote in a social media post last week.

It’s part of the state party’s effort to bring national Democrats to parts of South Carolina that they say have long been overlooked and “left behind” by Republican officials in the GOP-dominated state.

SUCCEEDING TRUMP IN 2028: SIX REPUBLICANS TO KEEP YOUR EYES ON

“Governor Newsom leads the largest economy in America and the fourth largest in the world, and he’s coming to meet folks in towns that have been hollowed out by decades of Republican control,” state party chair Christale Spain said in a statement.

Newsom stopped in South Carolina in January of last year to campaign on behalf of then-President Joe Biden during the state’s 2024 presidential primary. Newsom also traveled to Nevada, another early-voting state in the party’s primary calendar.

And Newsom also traveled last summer on behalf of Biden to New Hampshire, the state that for a century has held the first-in-the-nation presidential primary. 

The former president was the Democrats’ 2024 standardbearer before dropping out of the race last July following a disastrous debate performance against now-President Donald Trump. Vice President Kamala Harris replaced Biden at the top of the Democratic national ticket.

South Carolina, New Hampshire and Nevada are vying for the lead-off position in the next presidential election cycle, and the Democratic National Committee is expected to decide on their 2028 calendar by early 2027.

Newsom has long been thought to harbor national ambitions and is considered one of many Democrats who may make a run for the party’s 2028 presidential nomination.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The two-day swing through South Carolina will give Newsom an opportunity to make connections not only with voters, but also with local party and elected officials. The relationships forged this week could possibly pay dividends down the road for Newsom if he eventually decides to launch a 2028 presidential campaign.

It didn’t grab many national headlines, but the decision by the Wisconsin Supreme Court not to hear two lawsuits aiming to redraw the battleground state’s eight congressional districts may have a sizable impact on the 2026 midterm elections.

The liberal-majority court late last month, without explanation, refused to hear challenges brought by Democrats seeking to alter the current maps, which could have put two of the state’s six congressional districts currently held by Republicans in play.

The move by Wisconsin’s highest court appears to benefit Republicans, as they aim to defend their fragile House majority in next year’s elections.

HOUSE DEMS CAMPAIGN CHAIR ON HER GAMEPLAN TO WIN BACK MAJORITY

That’s because Republican Reps. Derrick Van Orden in Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District and Bryan Steil in the 1st CD — the state’s most competitive House seats — are likely safer without redrawing the maps.

“Every seat matters in the fight for the House of Representatives when all it takes is a three-seat gain to flip control, and a new map in Wisconsin could have helped Democrats in at least two seats, the 1st and 3rd Districts,” Jacob Rubashkin of the non-partisan political handicapper Inside Elections told Fox News.

WHAT THE HOUSE GOP CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE CHAIR TOLD FOX NEWS ABOUT TRUMP’S ROLE IN THE MIDTERMS

Rubashkin noted that “it’s a setback for Democrats, but certainly not an insurmountable one, as the party has plenty of offensive opportunities around the country and even in Wisconsin, where we still see the 3rd District as one of the most competitive districts. Depending on the political environment and candidate quality, the 1st might be competitive as well, even under the current lines.”

Democrats are convinced they can still pick up both seats.

THE WISCONSIN STATE SUPREME COURT ELECTION THAT GRABBED NATIONAL HEADLINES 

“It’s already clear that Derrick Van Orden and Bryan Steil are running scared because they cannot defend their records — whether it’s their votes to cut Medicaid while giving tax breaks to billionaires, or their 100% support for sweeping tariffs that are raising costs on Wisconsin families. Wisconsin voters see that Van Orden and Steil sold them out, and they’ll fire them next year,” Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) spokesperson Katie Smith told Fox News.

But the rival National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) disagrees.

“The bipartisan rejection of the radical Democrats’ desperate and politically motivated attempt to redraw the map in their favor offers a strong preview of how Wisconsin voters will reject the Democrats’ out-of-touch and radical agenda next year at the ballot box,” NRCC spokesman Zach Bannon said in a statement to Fox News.

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Rubashkin noted that while Wisconsin isn’t changing its maps, the congressional district lines may be altered in other states ahead of the 2026 midterms.

“Ultimately, while we expect a few redistricting changes in Ohio, Utah and potentially a few other states, the overall picture remains unchanged: Republicans are looking to buck history in an expensive and nationwide slog for 218 seats,” he added.

Fighter jets intercepted at least three aircraft on Sunday, which violated temporary flight restriction (TFR) airspace over Bedminster, New Jersey, where President Trump was spending the holiday weekend, according to North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).

With one aircraft being intercepted in the morning, and two others being intercepted later in the day, NORAD said there were a total of 11 unauthorized aircraft incursions in the TFR airspace over the weekend.

At about 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, a civilian plane violated the TFR and was safely escorted out of the area by a NORAD aircraft.

“NORAD and the [Federal Aviation Administration] aim to keep the skies over America safe, with close attention paid to areas with Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFR) to ensure flight safety, national security, and the security of the President,” Gen. Gregory Guillot, Commander, NORAD and US Northern Command said. “TFR procedures are mandatory, and the excessive number of TFR violations this weekend indicates some civil aviators are not reading Notice to Airmen, or NOTAMs, before each flight as required by the FAA.”

NORAD INTERCEPTS PLANE IN TRUMP’S BEDMINSTER NO-FLY ZONE: ‘NO EXCUSES’

Guillot said the NORAD armed fighter jets intercept and guide offending aircraft out of the TFR. 

SECOND NAVY FIGHTER JET GOES OVERBOARD FROM TRUMAN AIRCRAFT CARRIER, PILOTS EJECTED

“Should the pilot of an aircraft happen to find itself intercepted by either fighters or helicopters, they should immediately come up on frequency 121.5 or 243.0 and turn around to reverse course until receiving additional instructions on one of those frequencies,” Guillot added.

In another instance on Saturday, an aircraft was safely escorted out of the TFR airspace just before 2:40 p.m., after a standard “headbutt” maneuver was used to get the pilot’s attention.

AIR FORCE F-16 STRUCK BY DRONE DURING TRAINING FLIGHT OVER ARIZONA IN 2023

The maneuver involves a military jet flying directly in front of a civilian aircraft at a close but safe distance to visually signal the pilot to either follow or change course.

Officials warned private pilots to do their homework before takeoff.

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“It is critically important for North American flight safety that Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) violations are avoided,” NORAD said in a message to pilots. “All pilots must familiarize themselves with updates to restricted airspace, including reviewing new and existing FAA NOTAMs [Notice to Airmen] that impact their flight plans and activities. Adhering to FAA restricted airspace protocols is mandatory, regardless of geographical region, airframe, or aircrew.”

Fox News Digital’s Jasmine Baehr contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump slammed former first buddy Elon Musk for starting a third political party, saying such parties have “never worked” while also calling the move “ridiculous.”

Trump spoke with reporters before boarding Air Force 1 in Bedminster, New Jersey, when he was asked about Musk’s move to start a third party.

“I think it’s ridiculous to start a third party,” Trump said from the tarmac. “We have a tremendous success with the Republican Party. The Democrats have lost their way, but it’s always been a two-party system, and I think starting a third party just adds to confusion.

“It really seems to have been developed for two parties,” the president continued. “Third parties have never worked. So, he can have fun with it, but I think it’s ridiculous.”

ELON MUSK LAUNCHES ‘AMERICA PARTY’ AFTER TRUMP SIGNS HISTORIC SPENDING BILL: ‘WASTE & GRAFT’

Musk announced the launching of a new political party called the “America Party” on his social media platform X on Saturday.

The entrepreneur called the formation of the party a direct response to a corrupt political establishment that no longer represents the American people.

The announcement followed a viral July 4 poll on X, where Musk asked whether voters wanted independence from what he called the “two-party (some would say uniparty) system.”

ELON MUSK SAYS US IS RULED BY ‘PORKY PIG PARTY’ AS TRUMP DEFENDS HIS VISION AGAINST FORMER ALLY’S CRITICISM

Over 1.2 million votes were cast, with 65.4% saying “yes.”

“By a factor of 2 to 1, you want a new political party and you shall have it,” Musk posted Saturday. “When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy. Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom.”

A short time after his gaggle with reporters, Trump turned to Truth Social to express concerns over Musk, while giving insight into what may have led to the two parting ways.

“I am saddened to watch Elon Musk go completely ‘off the rails,’ essentially becoming a TRAIN WRECK over the past five weeks. He even wants to start a Third Political Party, despite the fact that they have never succeeded in the United States – The System seems not designed for them,” the president said. “The one thing Third Parties are good for is the creation of Complete and Total DISRUPTION & CHAOS, and we have enough of that with the Radical Left Democrats, who have lost their confidence and their minds!

“Republicans, on the other hand, are a smooth running ‘machine,’ that just passed the biggest Bill of its kind in the History of our Country,” Trump continued. “It is a Great Bill but, unfortunately for Elon, it eliminates the ridiculous Electric Vehicle (EV) Mandate, which would have forced everyone to buy an Electric Car in a short period of time.”

WOULD DONALD TRUMP HAVE WON THE 2024 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION WITHOUT ELON MUSK’S HELP?

Trump said he has been “strongly opposed” to an EV mandate from the very beginning, and the new bill allows consumers to buy whatever type of vehicle they want, whether it is electric, gas, or hybrid-powered.

“I have campaigned on this for two years and, quite honestly, when Elon gave me his total and unquestioned Endorsement, I asked him whether or not he knew that I was going to terminate the EV Mandate – It was in every speech I made, and in every conversation I had,” Trump said. “He said he had no problems with that – I was very surprised!”

Trump also said Musk asked a close friend of his to run NASA, but the president took issue with it when he found out that friend was a “blue blooded Democrat” who never contributed to a Republican.

“I also thought it inappropriate that a very close friend of Elon, who was in the Space Business, run NASA, when NASA is such a big part of Elon’s corporate life,” he said. “My Number One charge is to protect the American Public!”

Musk chose to establish a new political party after expressing grave concerns with the president’s “Big, Beautiful Bill,” which was signed into law on Friday at the White House.

The sweeping $3.3 trillion legislation includes tax cuts, infrastructure spending and stimulus measures and has drawn criticism from fiscal conservatives and libertarians. Though Musk did not reference the bill directly in his America Party posts, the timing suggests rising friction between the billionaire and the president. Musk has previously warned that unchecked spending by both parties threatens the long-term health of the economy.

TRUMP NOT INTERESTED IN TALKING TO MUSK: ‘ELON’S TOTALLY LOST IT’

The new party, according to Musk’s posts, will target a few key seats in Congress. The goal is to create a swing bloc powerful enough to hold the balance of power and block what Musk sees as the worst excesses of both Republicans and Democrats.

Third parties have traditionally had a difficult time gaining ground in American politics as the system is built for two dominant parties. With the Electoral College, winner-take-all elections and strict ballot access laws, outsiders cannot meaningfully compete. Even when a third-party candidate catches fire, it rarely lasts beyond a single election cycle.

One of the biggest third-party efforts in recent history was Ross Perot’s 1992 run. 
He earned nearly 19% of the popular vote as an independent but didn’t win a single Electoral College vote. It was the closest a third-party candidate got to the White House after President Teddy Roosevelt’s famed Bull Moose Party run in 1912 against his onetime protégé, William Howard Taft.

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Others, like Ralph Nader, have tried with the Green Party, and Gary Johnson with the Libertarian Party, but no third-party candidate has come close to winning the presidency.

Fox News Digital’s Jasmine Baehr contributed to this report.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said Sunday that President Donald Trump’s megabill will be “jet fuel” for the economy despite Democrats’ criticisms. 

Johnson, who ceremoniously handed Trump the gavel after the president signed his signature tax cuts and spending package into law Friday, teased two future bills to be passed within the next year. In an appearance on “Fox News Sunday,” he said the “big, beautiful bill,” which is “a huge leap forward for our priorities,” is the first step in a three-tier strategy. Johnson expects a second reconciliation bill by fall and a third by spring before the end of the current Congress. 

“I think we can do that, and so you’ll see more of us advancing these common-sense principles to deliver that American First agenda for the people,” Johnson said. “That’s what they elected us to do, and this was hugely forward.” 

Johnson pushed back on a reported Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) memo claiming Republicans will lose the majority in 2026 as a result of the “big, beautiful bill.” 

TRUMP SIGNS ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL’ BILL IN SWEEPING VICTORY FOR SECOND TERM AGENDA, OVERCOMING DEMS AND GOP REBELS

“Our Republicans are going to be out across the country telling the simple truth, and guess what? It will be demonstrated,” Johnson said. “Everyone will have more take-home pay, they’ll have more jobs and opportunity. The economy will be doing better, and we’ll be able to point to that as the obvious result of what we did. So don’t buy into those false talking points.” 

The speaker dismissed criticisms from Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and DNC Chair Ken Martin in particular as “old, tired talking points” that are typically used against any Republican tax legislation. 

Johnson stressed that the bill permanently extends the 2017 Trump tax cuts, which the speaker claims targeted lower- and middle-income Americans. He said the bottom 20% of earners witnessed their lowest federal tax rates in 40 years because of those original cuts and said that the new megabill expands on that by cutting taxes on tips, overtime pay, and seniors – benefits that he says will help Republicans during the 2026 midterm elections. 

“We’re giving everybody a tax cut,” Johnson told “Fox News Sunday” host Shannon Bream. “And that’s going to help the economy, it’s going be jet fuel. Small business owners, entrepreneurs, risk-takers, the people that provide the jobs, manufacturers, farmers get assistance here, and that will lift the economy.” 

Citing the Council of Joint Economic Advisers, Johnson said the megabill will spur 3% economic growth, create 4 million jobs and increase the average household’s take-home pay by $13,000. 

“This is a great thing for people who go to work every day,” Johnson said. “They’re going to feel that. And we’re excited about the upcoming election cycle in ’26. Because people will be riding an economic high, just as we did after the first two years of the first Trump administration. This time it’s on steroids.” 

ZELENSKYY TOUTS ‘FRUITFUL’ TRUMP CALL AFTER US PRESIDENT WAS ‘DISAPPOINTED’ BY PUTIN TALK

Johnson also responded to criticism from Rep. Glenn Ivey, D-Md., who argued that the megabill makes tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans permanent, while those for the working class “are time sensitive” and “expire in a couple of years.” 

“Now, I don’t think he read the bill, it’s 940 pages, so I would give some grace on that,” Johnson said in response to Ivey’s claims. 

Bream noted that Ivey was listening while the bill text was read on the Senate floor last Sunday. 

“Yeah, you’re right, for 19 hours or whatever it took,” Johnson said. “If you make between $30,000 and $80,000 a year, you can have a 15% less federal tax rate. You’re going to save more money, you’re going to keep more of your hard-earned money, and that’s not going away. So by making all these tax cuts permanent, it’s the largest tax bill, the most important, most consequential tax bill that Congress has ever passed because of what it does for people who go out and work hard every day.” 

Johnson said the bill pushes “pro-growth policies” and constitutes the “largest savings for the taxpayers in U.S. history.” 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“In the bill, we’re also going to secure the border permanently. We’re going to return to American energy dominance again, which is going to also be jet fuel to the economy,” Johnson said. “We’re gonna take care of peace through strength because we’re going to give important investments in our military industrial complex, which will help us in our competition with China. There is so much in this bill.” 

Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., says he disagrees with Zohran Mamdani when it comes to his positions, but said his fellow Democrats could learn something from the democratic socialist — something that reminds him of President Donald Trump.

“You have to recognize that he tapped into something,” Suozzi said on CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday. “He tapped into the same thing that Donald Trump tapped into, which is that people are concerned that the economy is not working for them.”

The “democratic capitalist,” as he describes himself, said in a Wall Street Journal op-ed last week that Mamdani’s win in the democratic mayoral primary should be a “loud wake-up call for Democrats.”

“Too often, Democrats are not perceived as being focused on affordability and the economy and the middle class and people aspiring to the middle class and their economic concerns,” Suozzi told Weijia Jiang, who was filling in for Margaret Brennan.

MAMDANI’S PRIMARY WIN EXPOSES DEMOCRAT DIVIDE AS TOP LEADERS WITHHOLD ENDORSEMENTS

“They see Democrats as being primarily focused on reproductive rights and on LGBT protections, which are important issues, but they’re not the issues that people think about every night when they’re lying in bed thinking about paying their bills or when they are talking about how they’re going to send their kids to school,” he continued. 

MAMDANI’S POLITICAL EARTHQUAKE ROCKS DEMOCRATS, DIVIDING PARTY ON PATH FORWARD

While Suozzi does not believe Trump or Mamdani has the correct path forward when it comes to those issues, he said Democrats can learn to lean into root issues.

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“Everybody in America, whether you’re a right-wing conservative or a left-wing progressive, should believe that in return for working hard, you make enough money so you can live a good life,” he said. “You can buy a home. You can educate your children. You could pay for your health insurance. You can retire one day without being scared. People don’t feel that currently, and we have to do a better job of communicating that.”

Football and basketball coaches are experts in clock management.

So are lawmakers.

Coaches are adept at either burning or saving just enough time on the clock to execute a play – or prevent the other team from doing so.

Congressional clock management is very different.

TRUMP $3.3T MEGABILL SETS HOUSE RECORD FOR LONGEST VOTE IN HISTORY

Whatever lawmakers say they will do – it will always take them a profoundly longer period of time in which to do it.

That’s why the temporal politics of passing President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” overwhelmed everyone who works on Capitol Hill over the past few weeks.

That ranges from the lawmakers themselves to the aides, journalists, Capitol custodians and U.S. Capitol Police officers.

To wit:

Congressional Republicans have churned through variations of frameworks and iterations of the big, beautiful bill since February. But things finally got serious when the House adopted its formal version of the package on May 22, beating the Memorial Day goal by four days.

There was chatter that the Senate would tackle the House’s package the week of June 9. Then that fell to the week of June 15. The idea was that the Senate would process its version of the bill that week and then allow the House to sync up during the week of June 22.

Then those hopes were dashed.

That’s to say nothing of the Senate at least voting to proceed to even start debate at the very end of the week of June 15.

Here’s what really happened. And it underscores just how protracted the process can be on Capitol Hill, especially with a very complicated and controversial piece of legislation.

On Monday, June 23, Republican senators talked about taking a procedural vote to launch debate on the big, beautiful bill as early as Wednesday or Thursday, June 25 or 26. Such a vote would require just 51 yeas. But the bill wasn’t ready. Republicans were still crafting and drafting the bill to comport with Senate budget rules. The GOP also aimed to write the legislation in a fashion to court 51 yeas to crack the procedural hurdle and formally start debate. 

Midweek came and the Senate never took a procedural vote. Sens. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., opposed starting debate on a bill that was not complete.

So midweek morphed into the weekend, and when the Senate convened on Saturday, June 28, Fox News was told the chamber would take a procedural vote to begin debate around 4 p.m. ET.

SENATE REPUBLICANS RAM TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ THROUGH KEY TEST VOTE

Well, you guessed it.

The Senate did not trigger that vote until 7:31 p.m. Saturday. And the 15-minute vote turned into a three-hour and 38-minute affair. The Senate closed the vote at 11:09 p.m.

Saturday – with Vice President JD Vance nearby in case his services were necessary to break a tie.

They were not.

At least not on the dais.

But Vance played a pivotal role in negotiating with Johnson, Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., and others to greenlight the Senate starting on the bill.

However, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., then compelled Senate clerks to read the entire 940-page bill out loud from the dais. That enterprise consumed just under 16 hours of floor time. The clerks – their voices cracking and hoarse – concluded a few minutes after 3 p.m. on Sunday. This marked the first time a senator required the clerks to verbally read a bill before the Senate since 2021.

So, once the clerks concluded their oratory, it was believed that the Senate might go all night with its marathon voting session – known as a “vote-a-rama” – and try to finish the bill sometime by dawn Monday.

But this is Congress time.

Senators didn’t even begin the vote-a-rama until 9:40 am Monday. Twelve hours later, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., suggested it was time to “start figuring out” a final group of amendments that were necessary to conclude the bill. 

Some groaned at that notion. One senator told Fox News that 12 hours later was a little late in the game to “start figuring out” something of that magnitude.

The Senate then toiled throughout the night Monday and into Tuesday. Thune and the GOP leadership finally cut a deal with Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, on rural hospitals to marshal her vote. The Senate approved the bill late Tuesday morning after an all-night session. Vance was back to break the tie in what is called a “Van Halen” vote. The tally was 50-50 since three GOP senators defected. But Vance’s vote in favor made the roll call “51-50.” 

For those who are uninitiated in the Van Halen discography, “5150” was Van Halen’s first album with new lead singer Sammy Hagar, supplanting David Lee Roth. It went to No. 1 on the Billboard charts. 

Then, it was on to the House.

HOUSE ADVANCES TRUMP’S MASSIVE AGENDA BILL AFTER FREEDOM CAUCUS CAVES

The House Rules Committee serves as a gateway for legislation to head to the floor. It convened a meeting early Tuesday afternoon. The Senate would soon send its revamped version of the big, beautiful bill across the Capitol Dome for the House to align. The Rules Committee then proceeded to meet until around 1 a.m. Wednesday, prepping the bill for the floor.

That meant the House could vote by late Wednesday afternoon.

But there was a problem.

House GOP leaders discovered what they termed a “technical error” in the rule. The entire House must first approve the rule before debating legislation on the floor. So the House needed to vote on the fix first. That vote started early Wednesday afternoon – and continued for another seven hours and 31 minutes. That established a record for the longest roll call vote in House history, topping a vote of seven hours and 21 minutes in 2021.

Some Republicans weren’t at the Capitol. But they held the vote open to buy time to work on skeptical GOP members who may be holdouts.

And around 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., decided to double-dog dare anyone who was against the bill to put their voting card where their mouth was. Republican leaders closed the “technical correction” vote and proceeded to a vote on the “rule.” If the House adopted the rule, it could formally debate the bill. The House was stuck if its members failed to approve the rule.

The tally board behind the dais in the House chamber populated relatively quickly. All 216 Democrats said no There were also four GOP no votes – and several who refused to vote yes. Republicans could only lose three votes and still pass the rule. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., was a yes on the rule – even though he opposed the bill. He then switched to no as the vote dragged on. However, Massie ultimately supported the rule in the end.

HAKEEM JEFFRIES BREAKS KEVIN MCCARTHY RECORD WHILE STALLING TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’

Reps. Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., Keith Self, R-Texas, Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., and Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., were no votes throughout the vote. But around 1 a.m., there was movement. The holdouts and some of those who voted no met with Johnson and other GOP leaders. That seemed to pry loose the votes of the holdouts and opponents – except Fitzpatrick. 

But there was a problem.

Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa. – who had not voted – drove home to Pennsylvania. So everyone at the Capitol patiently waited for Perry to return. He did around 3:30 a.m. Thursday. Everyone but Fitzpatrick voted as a bloc in favor of the rule. The House had the votes to begin debate on the rule.

It looked as though the House might vote around daybreak on the actual bill itself.

But the office of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., had told Fox News on Wednesday that Jeffries intended to speak for an hour or so at the end of debate. There’s a custom in the House where top leaders of both parties are yielded “a minute” to speak on the floor. But this is a “magic minute.” As a courtesy to those leaders, they speak as long as they want.

Jeffries began speaking just before 5 a.m. Thursday – and finally concluded eight hours and 45 minutes later just after 1:30 p.m. ET Thursday. Jeffries shattered the mark of eight hours and 32 minutes established by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., in 2021. McCarthy set the record as minority leader. 

So those House members hoping to hop an early morning flight and get home for July 4 would have to wait.

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Mike Johnson didn’t speak nearly as long as Jeffries. But he did observe that the late President Ronald Reagan once said that no speech should run longer than 20 minutes.

Johnson spoke for 23 minutes.

And then the House voted, finally passing the bill 218-214 at 2:31 p.m. Thursday. Fitzpatrick and Massie were the only GOP noes.

It is said that we never have enough time in life. And if you work on Capitol Hill, you’ll probably have even less thanks to congressional clock management.

Critics of President Donald Trump wasted no time blaming staffing cuts at the National Weather Service (NWS) for the widespread death and destruction caused by the floods in Texas, a reaction the White House called “shameful and disgusting.”

At least 59 people, including 21 children, have been confirmed dead from the flash floods along the Guadalupe River that began Friday. Eleven children and one counselor remain missing from a girls’ summer camp near the river, which flooded due to the remnants of Tropical Storm Barry. That storm made landfall over Mexico, but triggered massive unexpected thunderstorms over parts of Texas. 

“It only took 9 days for Trump’s cuts to the [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration] to kill dozens of children in Texas when Tropical Storm Barry landed this week,” Grant Stern, the executive editor of Occupy Democrats, wrote on X. 

TEXAS FLOOD SURVIVORS SHARE HARROWING STORIES, SEARCH CONTINUES FOR THOSE STILL MISSING

“The people in Texas voted for government services controlled by Donald Trump and Greg Abbott,” added Ron Filipkowski, former federal prosecutor and the editor-in-chief of MediasTouchNews. “That is exactly what they (sic) getting.” 

“What has happened to the girls at Camp Mystic is EXACTLY what one of the country’s best meteorologists, John Morales, warned would happen,” added Rachel Bitecofer, assistant director at Christopher Newport University’s Wason Center for Public Policy. “Trump’s cuts to the NOAA & NWS have critically impacted storm prediction nationwide.”

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem held a press conference Saturday, and acknowledged some of the criticisms regarding the nation’s flood notification systems, which included concerns that weather forecasts underestimated the amount of rain that ultimately fell. 

Noem noted that the Trump administration is “currently upgrading” the nation’s flood notification technology, which she described as “ancient.” 

DEADLY TEXAS FLOOD EXPOSES ‘NEGLECTED’ WEATHER ALERT SYSTEM TRUMP AIMS TO MODERNIZE

“When the [weather] system came over the area, it stalled,” Noem said during the press conference. “It was much more water, much like [what] we experienced during [Hurricane] Harvey, with the same type of system that was unpredictable in the way that it reacted in the way that it stopped right here and dumped unprecedented amounts of rain that caused a flooding event like this.”

Tom Fahy, legislative director for the National Weather Service Employees Organization, told NBC News that weather forecasting offices were adequately staffed, and “they issued timely forecasts and warnings leading up to the storm,” but he added that unfilled leadership positions were “clearly a concern.”

“The reason Trump defunded the National Weather Service leading to the deaths of all those girls in the Texas flood is because PROJECT 2025 THOUGHT WEATHER PREDICTION SCIENCE WAS TIED TO EVIDENCE OF CLIMATE CHANGE,” musician Mikel Jollett wrote on X. 

WHITE HOUSE INSISTS FEMA IS TAKING HURRICANE SEASON ‘SERIOUSLY,’ BLASTS ‘SLOPPY’ REPORTING

Isaiah Martin, a Democratic candidate for Texas’s 18th Congressional District, called for an immediate congressional investigation into “the Republican DOGE cuts to NOAA and the National Weather Service.”

“We saw the affects (sic) this weekend,” Martin wrote on X. “Trump defunded these agencies and we DEMAND answers. There MUST be *swift* accountability!” 

Washington Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee did not directly blame Trump’s approach to climate change for the deaths, but he suggested the president’s efforts to peel back green energy funding are a contributing factor to increased catastrophic natural disasters, like this weekend’s flood in Texas. 

“It is hard to make the Texas flood tragedy worse, except to know that on the same day Trump signed a bill cratering solar and wind energy that is vital in the battle against the climate change making these torrential rains more frequent,” Inslee wrote on X this weekend. 

During an interview with CNN, Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, added that he didn’t think it was helpful to have open leadership positions that, if filled, could “help prevent these strategies.”

“I don’t think it’s helpful to have missing key personnel from the National Weather Service not in place to help prevent these tragedies,” Castro said, adding “we have to figure out in the future how we make sure that it doesn’t happen again.”

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White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson called it “shameful and disgusting” to see that in the wake of this tragedy people are politicizing what took place.

”It’s shameful and disgusting that in the wake of tragedy, the left’s first instinct is to lie and politicize a disaster to target their political opponents. False claims about the NWS have been repeatedly debunked by meteorologists, experts, and other public reporting,” Jackson said. “The NWS did their job, even issuing a flood watch more than 12 hours in advance. The Trump Administration is grateful to the first responders who sprung into action to save hundreds lives during this catastrophe, and will continue to help the great state of Texas in their recovery efforts.”

Fox News’ Alexandra Koch contributed to this report.

The White House and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis are encouraging Republican states across the nation to follow Florida’s lead and install their own versions of “Alligator Alcatraz” – a remote detention facility for illegal immigrants located in the heart of the Everglades. 

Some red states are already warming up to the idea or already have new detention facilities in the works. 

“We don’t have alligators, but we have lots of bears. I am not aware of any plans for an Alaska version of Alligator Alcatraz,” representatives for Alaska’s state government told Fox News’ Laura Ingraham Tuesday. 

“Dear DHS: We’ve got a swamp and a dream. Let’s talk. South Carolina’s gators are ready. And they’re not big on paperwork. If I was Governor, we’d be bringing Alligator Alcatraz to South Carolina,” South Carolina Republican Rep. Nancy Mace posted to X on Tuesday, when Trump traveled to Florida to tour “Alligator Alcatraz.” 

TRUMP SAYS ONLY WAY OUT OF ‘ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ’ IS DEPORTATION

Fox News Digital reached out to the offices of 26 Republican governors inquiring if they are considering rolling out their own versions of “Alligator Alcatraz,” with a handful, stretching from Idaho to South Carolina, responding with what they have in the works. 

Garrison Douglas, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s spokesman, told Fox News Digital that the Peach State “has helped lead the way in tackling illegal immigration” and recently announced plans to build the “largest detention facility in the nation.”

“From maintaining the longest continuous National Guard presence at the U.S. southern border of any state to banning sanctuary cities and directing the Georgia Department of Public Safety to enhance its partnership with ICE, under Governor Kemp’s leadership, Georgia has helped lead the way in tackling illegal immigration,” Douglas told Fox News Digital Wednesday.  

“Furthermore, one of our private sector partners recently announced an agreement with ICE to convert a Georgia facility into the largest detention facility in the nation – a move that is supported by the governor and will only bolster national efforts to detain criminal illegal immigrants and process them for deportation,” he added. 

The communications director for Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Sam Dubke, told Fox Digital that Arkansas is building a “a new 3,000-bed prison in the state.”

“Governor Sanders is working hand-in-hand with the Trump Administration to deport violent, criminal illegal immigrants, which is why she signed the Defense Against Criminal Illegals Act earlier this year to put tough new penalties on illegal immigrants who commit additional crimes while in Arkansas and facilitate greater collaboration between Arkansas law enforcement and federal immigration officials, and is in the process of building a new 3,000-bed prison in the state,” Dubke said when asked about a potential Arkansas version of “Alligator Alcatraz.”

Brandon Charochak, spokesman for South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, told Fox Digital Wednesday that the governor serves as “President Trump’s chairman of the Homeland Security Advisory Council,” and had just “presided over the council’s first meeting this morning in Washington.”

 “South Carolina’s law enforcement and National Guard continue to collaborate and participate with federal officials on illegal immigration enforcement and deportation,” Charochak continued. “Gov. McMaster has directed state officials to continue exploring how the Palmetto State’s unique assets and resources can be utilized to provide additional and enhanced support in the weeks and months to come.” 

In Idaho, Gov. Brad Little is “planning to roll out new details on Idaho’s efforts to support President Trump’s agenda,” according to his office. 

“Gov. Little fully supports President Trump’s efforts to deport dangerous illegal alien criminals,” Little’s press secretary, Joan Varsek, told Fox News Digital Wednesday. “Gov. Little is proud that Idaho is leading the efforts through our recent action to enter into a 287(g) agreement with ICE and the Idaho State Police to assist with transporting these individuals to ICE detention facilities in our state while they await deportation. Secretary Noem recently applauded Idaho’s actions in supporting the Trump administration.” 

SELF-DEPORT OR END UP IN ‘ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ,’ NOEM WARNS MIGRANTS DURING TRUMP VISIT

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s press secretary, Andrew Mahaleris, touted in a comment provided to Fox Digital that the state has already offered up “4,000 beds for detention.”

“Gov. Abbott is grateful to finally have a partner in the White House working with Texas to secure our border and stop illegal immigration. In January, Gov. Abbott directed the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and the Texas Facilities Commission to identify land and facilities for the federal government to use as detention space, and in February Gov. Abbott offered the Trump administration 4,000 beds for detention,” Mahaleris said. “Texas will continue to assist the Trump administration in arresting, detaining and deporting illegal immigrants.”

White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller joined Fox News’ Laura Ingraham Tuesday evening following his trip to Florida with Trump earlier that day and called on all Republican governors to follow DeSantis’ lead and erect their own “Alligator Alcatraz.”

TRUMP TO VISIT ‘ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ’ FOR GRAND OPENING OF SWAMPY EVERGLADES DETENTION CENTER FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS

“We want to go to every Republican state – now, of course, in a sane country, Democrats would do it, too, but they love the illegals and they hate the Americans,” Miller said. “We want every governor of a red state, and if you are watching tonight: pick up the phone, call DHS, work with us to build facilities in your state so we can get the illegals out and we can get the criminals out.”  

White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson added in a comment to Fox Digital Wednesday that “our nation would be well-served by more facilities” like “Alligator Alcatraz.”

“Alligator Alcatraz is a state-of-the-art facility that will play a critical role in fulfilling the President’s promise to get the worst criminal illegal aliens out of America as fast as possible,” Jackson said. “President Trump is grateful to partner with Secretary Noem and Ron DeSantis on this important project and our nation would be well-served by more facilities like this one.” 

Trump took a trip down to the Everglades Tuesday morning, where he met with DeSantis, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and other federal and state leaders to tour the new migrant detention facility. The property is located at a former airport that has been outfitted with sturdy tent structures to house 5,000 illegal immigrants amid the Trump administration’s deportation blitz. 

The detention center earned its name due to its location in the heart of the Everglades, which is home to massive reptiles such as alligators and pythons. 

ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS TRY BLOCKING TRUMP’S ‘ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ’ WITH LAST-MINUTE LAWSUIT

“It’s known as ‘Alligator Alcatraz,’ which is very appropriate because I looked outside, and that’s not a place I want to go hiking anytime soon,” Trump said Tuesday during his tour. “But very soon this facility will have some of the most menacing migrants, some of the most vicious people on the planet.” 

“We’re surrounded by miles of treacherous swampland, and the only way out is really deportation,” the president added. “And a lot of these people are self-deporting back to their country where they came from.”

DeSantis authorized the construction of the illegal immigrant detention center on a 30-square-mile property in the Everglades’ swamplands of Miami–Dade County under an emergency order in June. 

FLORIDA BUILDING ‘ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ’ WHERE ICE DETAINEES FACE NATURE’S OWN SECURITY SYSTEM

DeSantis also called on fellow Republican governors to follow his lead and build their own versions of Alligator Alcatraz in an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity Tuesday evening. 

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“All the red states, at a minimum, need to step up and do this,” DeSantis said. “If all red states are doing what Florida is doing, even if it’s at a smaller scale, because they may be smaller, you’re going to see massive numbers for the deportations, and Biden let in how many millions of people, we need these types of solutions if we want to get the job done.”

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was seen in public for the first time since the beginning of Israel’s war against Iran on Saturday.

Khamenei had been secluded in a security bunker for the entirety of the conflict, though President Donald Trump claimed to know his location at the time. Khamenei attended a mourning ceremony on the eve of Ashoura on Saturday, waving to a large crowd but not making any statement.

Trump asserted during the 12-day war with Israel that the U.S. knew Khamenei’s location, but would not kill him, “at least for now.”

Khamenei made his first public statement in days on June 26, shortly after a cease-fire between Israel and Iran began. He said in a pre-recorded statement that Tehran had delivered a “slap to America’s face” by striking a U.S. air base in Qatar, and warning against further attacks by the U.S. or Israel on Iran.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR IRAN’S TERROR ARMY, THE IRGC, AFTER DEVASTATING MILITARY SETBACKS?

In reality, none of Iran’s missiles hit their mark on the Al-Udeid Air Base.

Despite the U.S. strike on three nuclear facilities across Iran last month, experts say the regime is still bent on developing nuclear weapons.

“Repair, reconstitute and rebuild is going to be the modus operandi of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Behnam Ben Taleblu, Senior Director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Iran Program told Fox News Digital. “It just depends on how are they going to be doing it? While flirting with the international community? Are they going to go dark totally altogether?”

“All of this remains to be seen,” he added.

GEN. KEANE: IRANIANS HAVE NOT GIVEN UP ON A NUCLEAR WEAPON

Spokesman for the Iranian regime, Fatemeh Mohajerani, confirmed this week that the Fordow, Isfahan and Natanz nuclear sites had been “seriously damaged” following the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran’s nuclear program last month.

Questions remain over the extent of damage that was incurred, as well as skepticism over whether Iran was able to move any enriched uranium or centrifuges away from the heavily guarded sites prior to the strikes. 

Though the Trump administration said last week that it had “obliterated” the three facilities it struck, and has fervently rejected reports suggesting that Iranian officials may have been able to transfer some elements of the regime’s nuclear program, Israeli officials confirmed this week that they are continuing to monitor the situation closely.

TRUMP COULD ARM ISRAEL WITH US B-2S AND BUNKER BUSTERS IF IRAN TRIES TO GO NUCLEAR UNDER NEW PROPOSAL

Experts in the U.S. and Israel have said they believe Iran is still assessing the extent of the damage from the “bunker buster” bombs, and that the regime will look to recover and repair what it can — meaning it may be looking to buy time.

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“No doubt, the regime will still have a diplomatic strategy designed to rope-a-dope anybody, and to find as much time as possible for this government to do that,” Ben Taleblu said.

Fox News’ Caitlin McFall contributed to this report

Iran is preparing its next step in what one security expert warns remains its chief objective: developing a nuclear weapon.

“Repair, reconstitute and rebuild is going to be the modus operandi of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Behnam Ben Taleblu, Senior Director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Iran Program told Fox News Digital. “It just depends on how are they going to be doing it? While flirting with the international community? Are they going to go dark totally altogether?

“All of this remains to be seen,” he added.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR IRAN’S TERROR ARMY, THE IRGC, AFTER DEVASTATING MILITARY SETBACKS?

Spokesman for the regime, Fatemeh Mohajerani, confirmed this week that the Fordow, Isfahan and Natanz nuclear sites had been “seriously damaged” following the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran’s nuclear program last month. 

Questions remain over the extent of damage that was incurred, as well as skepticism over whether Iran was able to move any enriched uranium or centrifuges away from the heavily guarded sites prior to the strikes. 

Though the Trump administration said on Wednesday that it had “obliterated” the three facilities it struck, and has fervently rejected reports suggesting that Iranian officials may have been able to transfer some elements of the regime’s coveted nuclear program, Israeli officials confirmed this week that they are continuing to monitor the situation closely.

Experts in the U.S. and Israel have said they believe Iran is still assessing the extent of the damage from the “bunker busting” bombs, and that the regime will look to recover and repair what it can — meaning it may be looking to buy time.

“No doubt, the regime will still have a diplomatic strategy designed to rope-a-dope anybody, and to find as much time as possible for this government to do that,” Ben Taleblu said.

The Iranian regime this week suggested it remained open to negotiations with the U.S. after President Donald Trump signaled that the talks could begin as soon as next week, though multiple Iranian officials said that that timeframe was overly ambitious. 

“I don’t think negotiations will restart as quickly as that,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a CBS News interview. “The doors of diplomacy will never slam shut.” 

TRUMP COULD ARM ISRAEL WITH US B-2S AND BUNKER BUSTERS IF IRAN TRIES TO GO NUCLEAR UNDER NEW PROPOSAL

But the regime also took steps to further hinder the UN nuclear watchdog — which is tasked with tracking all nation’s nuclear programs — and suspended all interaction with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Wednesday. 

That same day, the State Department condemned the move, and spokesperson Tammy Bruce said it was “unacceptable that Iran chose to suspend cooperation with the IAEA at a time when it has a window of opportunity to reverse course and choose a path of peace and prosperity.”

Iran has limited IAEA access in the past and Ben Taleblu argued Tehran will likely look to do this again as it attempts to hold on to any bargaining chip it can.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran’s next step, and likely most dangerous capability right now, is its diplomatic capability,” the Iranian security expert argued. “This is the capability of the regime to either enter negotiations with a weak hand and leave with a strong hand, or try to prevent a military victory of its adversaries from becoming a political victory. 

“If negotiations do take place between the U.S. and the Iranians, be they direct or indirect, the Iranians are going to be dangling IAEA access. This is already their most important weapon,” he added. 

Ben Taleblu explained that using the IAEA as a bargaining chip not only enables Iran to play for time as it looks to re-establish its nuclear program, but to sow division in the U.S. by creating uncertainty. 

GEN. KEANE: IRANIANS HAVE NOT GIVEN UP ON A NUCLEAR WEAPON

“By diminishing the monitoring and by circumscribing and even cutting IAEA access to these facilities, the regime is trying to make America have to rely on intelligence alone,” he said. “And as you see from the very politicized debates over the battle damage assessment, relying on intelligence alone without sources on the ground inspecting the sites, inspecting the facilities, documenting the fissile material, can lead to drastically different conclusions being taken by similar but not the same intelligence organizations or representatives.”

Ultimately, Iran is not going to give up on its nuclear ambitions, Ben Taleblu warned, noting that Tehran’s security apparatus completely changed during its war with Iraq in the 1980s. 

“Everything that we face from the regime that is a security threat was started then — the ballistic missile program, the drone program, the maritime aggression, the transnational terrorist apparatus and the nuclear program all have their origins in the 1980s,” he said.  “By resurrecting this nuclear program, the Islamic Republic was not engaging in a science fair experiment. 

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“The Islamic Republic was seeking an ultimate deterrent,” Ben Taleblu continued. “It was seeking an ultimate deterrence because it had a vision for what the region and the world should look like, and it was willing to put foreign policy muscle and the resources of its state behind that vision.”

The expert on the Iranian regime warned that Iran’s 40-year “obsession” with developing its nuclear program to achieve its geopolitical aims is not going to change because of U.S. military intervention. 

Elon Musk says the two-party system is broken, and he just launched a new political party to prove it.

On Saturday, Musk announced on X, the social media platform he owns, the formation of the “America Party,” calling it a direct response to what he described as a corrupt political establishment that no longer represents the American people. 

The announcement followed a viral July 4 poll on X, where Musk asked whether voters wanted independence from what he called the “two-party (some would say uniparty) system.” 

ELON MUSK INDICATES HE’LL DONATE TO REP. THOMAS MASSIE, A REPUBLICAN WHO HAS BEEN EXCORIATED BY TRUMP

Over 1.2 million votes were cast, with 65.4% saying “yes.”

“By a factor of 2 to 1, you want a new political party and you shall have it,” Musk posted Saturday. “When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy. Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom.”
 

The move came just after President Donald Trump signed the “big, beautiful bill” into law Friday at the White House.

The sweeping $3.3 trillion legislation includes tax cuts, infrastructure spending and stimulus measures and has drawn criticism from fiscal conservatives and libertarians. Though Musk did not reference the bill directly in his America Party posts, the timing suggests rising friction between the billionaire and the president. Musk has previously warned that unchecked spending by both parties threatens the long-term health of the economy.

The new party, according to Musk’s posts, will target a few key seats in Congress. The goal is to create a swing bloc powerful enough to hold the balance of power and block what Musk sees as the worst excesses of both Republicans and Democrats.

ELON MUSK SAYS US IS RULED BY ‘PORKY PIG PARTY’ AS TRUMP DEFENDS HIS VISION AGAINST FORMER ALLY’S CRITICISM

Some on the right voiced concern in the comments section that a third party could split the conservative vote and help Democrats win more easily. 

“Your third party will disproportionately take votes from the right vs the left and give the left an easier path to power,” conservative commentator Shawn Farash posted.

Others, like Joey Mannarino, urged Musk to focus instead on reforming the GOP from within.

Critics also pointed out that the X poll was informal, not limited to American voters and vulnerable to bots. 

Third parties have traditionally had a difficult time gaining ground in American politics as the system is built for two dominant parties. With the Electoral College, winner-take-all elections and strict ballot access laws, outsiders cannot meaningfully compete. Even when a third-party candidate catches fire, it rarely lasts beyond a single election cycle.

One of the biggest third-party efforts in recent history was Ross Perot’s 1992 run. 

He earned nearly 19% of the popular vote as an independent but didn’t win a single Electoral College vote. It was the closest a third-party candidate got to the White House after President Teddy Roosevelt’s famed Bull Moose Party run in 1912 against his onetime protégé, William Howard Taft.

Others, like Ralph Nader, have tried with the Green Party, and Gary Johnson with the Libertarian Party, but no third-party candidate has come close to winning the Presidency.

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The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

After a Texas flood killed at least 32 people Friday, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem addressed criticism about notification prior to the flood, saying the administration is working on updating the National Weather Service and NOAA’s “neglected” and “ancient” systems.

Citing her time in Congress and as governor of South Dakota, Noem said that while the weather is difficult to predict, there have been instances when officials and citizens expressed the need for quicker warning and clearer notification before deadly weather.

“That is one of the reasons that, when President [Donald] Trump took office, he said he wanted to fix and is currently upgrading the technology,” Noem said during a news conference with state officials Saturday afternoon. 

“The National Weather Service has indicated that with that and the [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration] (NOAA), we needed to renew this ancient system that has been left in place with the federal government for many, many years.”

PARENTS DESPERATELY SEEKING ANSWERS ON MISSING CAMPERS AFTER TEXAS FLOOD

The National Weather Service told Noem its notifications department started to look at expansion of its limited flood impact area at 1:18 p.m. local time Thursday, about 12 hours before the tragedy.

Though a flood watch was issued, Noem described it as a “moderate” alert.

“When the [weather] system came over the area, it stalled,” she said. “It was much more water, much like [what] we experienced during [Hurricane] Harvey, with the same type of system that was unpredictable in the way that it reacted in the way that it stopped right here and dumped unprecedented amounts of rain that caused a flooding event like this.”

TEXAS RIVER FLOOD LEAVES AT LEAST 6 DEAD AS EMERGENCY CREWS RACE TO FIND OTHERS MISSING; CAMP EVACUATED

Initial reports indicated heavy rain Friday morning caused the Guadalupe River to rise nearly 30 feet in 45 minutes. 

Weather service employees told Noem they continued to elevate notifications, though those alerts likely would have come through in the early morning hours when local residents were asleep.

Texas officials on Saturday confirmed at least 32 deaths, including 14 children.

HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY KRISTI NOEM HOSPITALIZED AFTER ALLERGIC REACTION

One of the hardest hit areas was Camp Mystic, an all-girls private Christian camp in Hunt, Texas. 

As of Saturday afternoon, 27 young girls remain missing.

“I do carry your concerns back to the federal government, to President Trump, and we will do all we can to fix those kinds of things that may have felt like a failure to you and to your community members,” Noem told a reporter. 

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“We know that everybody wants more warning time, and that’s why we’re working to upgrade the technologies that have been neglected for far too long, to make sure that families have as much advanced notice as possible,” she added.

Noem said reform is ongoing, though she did not announce a specific timeline.

Eight criminal illegal aliens were deported to South Sudan on Independence Day, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced Saturday, after what it called “weeks of delays by activist judges” that left ICE officers stranded and at risk.

“These sickos were finally deported to South Sudan on Independence Day,” Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. 

“After weeks of delays by activist judges that put our law enforcement in danger, ICE deported these eight barbaric criminal illegal aliens who are so heinous even their own countries will not accept them.”

The deportation effort had been blocked by a series of lower court rulings, which the Supreme Court overturned July 3, granting the Trump administration’s motion to enforce its third-country removal policy. The eight men had been held in Djibouti as legal challenges played out.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SCORES WIN AS SUPREME COURT APPROVES DEPORTATIONS TO THIRD COUNTRIES

According to DHS, the eight men had extensive and violent criminal histories.

Enrique Arias-Hierro, a Cuban national, was convicted of homicide, armed robbery, kidnapping and impersonating a law enforcement officer. Jose Manuel Rodriguez-Quinones, also from Cuba, was convicted of attempted first-degree murder with a weapon, battery, larceny and drug trafficking.

Thongxay Nilakout, a Laotian national, was convicted of first-degree murder and robbery and sentenced to life in prison.

Jesus Munoz-Gutierrez, from Mexico, was convicted of second-degree murder and also sentenced to life confinement.

FEDERAL JUDGE HALTS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION DEPORTATION OF EIGHT MIGRANTS TO SOUTH SUDAN

Dian Peter Domach, a South Sudanese national, had convictions for robbery, multiple gun offenses and driving under the influence.

Kyaw Mya of Burma was convicted of lascivious acts with a child under the age of 12 and served part of a 10-year sentence.

Nyo Myint, also from Burma, was convicted of first-degree sexual assault involving a mentally and physically incapacitated victim and faced additional charges of aggravated assault.

Tuan Thanh Phan, a Vietnamese national, was convicted of first-degree murder and second-degree assault and sentenced to 22 years.

“These are not just immigration cases,” McLaughlin said. “These are threats to American communities that judges tried to force ICE to return to the United States.”

DHS credited the Supreme Court’s clarification order for breaking the logjam and allowing ICE to complete the mission. 

“This was a win for the rule of law, safety and security of the American people,” its statement said.

DHS also thanked ICE officers who had been stranded abroad during the court-imposed pause. 

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“We thank our brave ICE law enforcement for their sacrifice to defend our freedoms,” McLaughlin said. “We will continue to fight for the freedoms of Americans while these far-left activists continue to try and force us to bring murderers, pedophiles and rapists back to the U.S.”

The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

President Donald Trump has defended his use of the term “shylock” at a rally this week, saying he was unaware it is considered antisemitic by some people. 

Trump used the term in his speech in Iowa on Thursday, shortly after his signature One Big Beautiful Bill Act was passed by Congress earlier in the day.

Shylock is the name of the villainous Jewish moneylender in Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice,” who demands a pound of flesh from a debtor. 

TRUMP ADMIN CRACKS DOWN ON ANTISEMITISM AS DOJ OFFICIAL EXPOSES ‘VIOLENT RHETORIC’ OF RADICAL PROTESTERS

Over time, the name came to be used more broadly to refer to a loan shark or greedy moneylender. Today, it can be considered an antisemitic slur, particularly when used in reference to Jewish people. 

“No death tax, no estate tax, no going to the banks and borrowing some from, in some cases, a fine banker and in some cases, shylocks and bad people,” Trump said, while referring to the bill’s elimination of estate taxes and borrowing burdens.

The term did not provoke any reaction from the crowd, but his remark quickly blew up online, and he later defended using it when a reporter said it is widely considered an antiemetic phrase.

“No I’ve never heard it that way,” Trump responded. “To me, a shylock is somebody that’s a moneylender at high rates. I’ve never heard it that way. You view it differently than me. I’ve never heard that.”

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which works to combat antisemitism, said the term evokes “a centuries-old antisemitic trope about Jews and greed that is extremely offensive and dangerous.”

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“President Trump’s use of the term is very troubling and irresponsible,” the ADL wrote in a statement Friday. “It underscores how lies and conspiracies about Jews remain deeply entrenched in our country. Words from our leaders matter and we expect more from the President of the United States.”

Rep. Jerry Nadler, D- N.Y., who is Jewish, agreed and ripped Trump for using the term. 

“The term ‘Shylock’ is one of the most recognizable antisemitic slurs in the English language,” Nadler wrote on X. “It’s a centuries-old trope that has fueled discrimination, hatred and violence against Jews for generations. I condemn Donald Trump’s dangerous use of this blatantly antisemitic slur and his long history of trafficking in antisemitic tropes.”

Nadler went on to say that Trump has exploited the rise of antisemitism to suppress free speech and that he isn’t serious about tackling the problem.

Conservative political commentator John Podhoretz, who is also Jewish, shot back at Nadler.

“I condemn your endorsement of an anti-Semitic mayoral candidate which you did because you are a pusillanimous coward,” Podhoretz wrote, in reference to Nadler endorsing Zohran Mamdani for New York City mayor. “At best Trump said Shylock the same week he destroyed Iran’s nuclear program. What have you ever done for the Jews, Jerry?”

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Trump has made tackling antisemitism — particularly on college campuses and through immigration enforcement — a top priority in his campaign. He signed an executive order in January mandating that all federal agencies identify and apply tools to address antisemitic harassment and violence in higher education. His administration has also launched investigations into universities including Harvard, Columbia, and UC Berkeley over allegations of antisemitism and has threatened to pull federal funding if they fail to act.

His daughter Ivanka converted to Orthodox Judaism in 2009 and is married to Jared Kushner, who is also Jewish.

Democrat Joe Biden, while vice president, said in 2014 that he had made a “poor choice” of words a day after he used the term in remarks to a legal aid group.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Prominent Democrats sent messages of doom and gloom rather than celebration on July 4, drawing ire from a multitude of critics. Many of the messages included warnings about supposed threats to the country emanating from the Trump administration.

“This Fourth of July, I am taking a moment to reflect. Things are hard right now. They are probably going to get worse before they get better,” former Vice President Kamala Harris wrote in a post on X that included a photo of her and former first gentleman Doug Emhoff at the White House. “But I love our country — and when you love something, you fight for it. Together, we will continue to fight for the ideals of our nation.”

Many social media users were quick to point out that Harris cropped former President Joe Biden and former first lady Jill Biden out of the photo. Others took one of Harris’ famous phrases to mock her, saying that the country was “unburdened by what has been.”

THE LEFT IS CELEBRATING JULY 4 WITH PROTESTS WHILE THE RIGHT SEES A PATRIOTIC REVIVAL

Harris’ old boss, former President Joe Biden, posted a more mild message, while also encouraging Americans to “fight to maintain” democracy.

Meanwhile, former President Barack Obama also chimed in with a warning of his own, saying that “core democratic principles seem to be continuously under attack.” He argued that the word “we” is the “single most powerful word in our democracy,” and used his first presidential campaign slogan as one of his examples.

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“Independence Day is a reminder that America is not the project of any one person. The single most powerful word in our democracy is the word ‘We.’ ‘We The People.’ ‘We Shall Overcome.’ ‘Yes We Can.’ America is owned by no one. It belongs to all citizens. And at this moment in history—when core democratic principles seem to be continuously under attack, when too many people around the world have become cynical and disengaged—now is precisely the time to ask ourselves tough questions about how we can build our democracies and make them work in meaningful and practical ways for ordinary people,” Obama wrote.

Xi Van Fleet, a survivor of Mao’s Cultural Revolution, responded saying, “We the People are taking our country back from those like you who despise America and work tirelessly to dismantle everything it stands for.”

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Sen. Bernie Sanders appeared to support the anti-Trump “No Kings” movement in his July 4 post.

“On July 4, 1776, Americans said: No to Kings, No to Despotism. On July 4, 2025, all across the country, Americans say again: No to Kings, No to Despotism,” Sanders wrote.

In response, several social media users pointed out that, unlike a king, President Donald Trump was elected.

Chinese President Xi Jinping will not attend this week’s BRICS Summit in Brazil, marking the first time the Chinese leader has missed the gathering of major emerging economies. The abrupt decision has triggered widespread speculation about internal political dynamics within China and the fraying cohesion of BRICS itself.

China’s official explanation — a “scheduling conflict” and the fact that Xi already met with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva earlier this year, according to the South China Morning Post — has been met with skepticism. Premier Li Qiang will attend the summit in Xi’s place, continuing a recent trend of Xi scaling back his appearances on the global stage.

“That doesn’t make sense,” said Gordon Chang, an expert on U.S.-China relations. “There are many other countries at the BRICS summit, not just Brazil. To me, it’s extremely significant that Xi Jinping is not going. It suggests turbulence at home — there are signs he’s lost control of the military and that civilian rivals are reasserting power. This is a symptom of that.”

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Bryan Burack of the Heritage Foundation agrees that Xi’s absence underscores deeper issues: “It’s another indication that BRICS is not going to be China’s vassalization of the Global South.” He noted that countries like Brazil and Indonesia have recently imposed tariffs on China over industrial overcapacity and dumping, moves that suggest widening rifts within the group.

“China is actively harming all those countries for the most part, maybe with some exceptions, through its malign trade policies and dumping and overcapacity.”

Tensions with India and global trade pressure may also be factors

Some analysts point to rising China-India friction as a contributing factor in Xi’s decision to skip the summit. 

“China has been at war with India for decades, essentially,” Burack said. “These are fundamentally opposing interests. It’s difficult to see China changing its behavior in the near term, and that will keep tensions high.”

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to take a leading role at the gathering, potentially another deterrent for Xi’s attendance.

Another key leader — Russian President Vladimir Putin — is only expected to address the group by video. 

AFTER TRUMP’S DEPARTURE, G7 LEADERS FAIL TO REACH AGREEMENTS ON KEY ISSUES

BRICS: United in name, divided in decades-long tensions 

Formed by Brazil, Russia, India and China and later joined by South Africa, BRICS was envisioned as a non-Western counterweight to G7 dominance. It has expanded to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the UAE and, most recently, Indonesia, strengthening its economic footprint.

Economist Christian Briggs highlighted BRICS’s massive scale: “BRICS now comprises 12 full members and up to 23 when counting partners. Collectively, they account for over 60% of the world’s GDP and around 75% of the global population. They control vast natural resources and a growing share of global trade flows.”

Yet despite its scale, the bloc remains ideologically and strategically fragmented. “It’s a group of countries that hate each other,” Burack said bluntly. “China is harming many of them through unfair trade practices. There’s not a lot of incentive for real unity.”

Currency ambitions and strategic divergences

The alliance’s aspirations to challenge the U.S. dollar through alternative payment systems and a potential BRICS currency have gained media traction — but experts caution against overestimating this threat.

“There’s been a lot of fearmongering about a BRICS currency,” said Burack. “But the interests of these countries are completely divergent. There’s more smoke than fire when it comes to a currency challenge to the dollar.”

Chang echoed this skepticism: “The only country that can challenge the dollar is the United States. Weakness in the dollar is due to what we are doing domestically, not what the BRICS are doing.”

Still, Briggs offered a counterpoint, arguing that BRICS members are already reshaping global currency flows.

“They’re moving away from the dollar into digital yuan, rupees, rubles. China has launched a SWIFT alternative already adopted by the Caribbean banking sector — trillions of dollars are shifting.”

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Is BRICS still a threat to U.S. influence?

While its cohesion remains questionable, BRICS poses a long-term challenge to U.S. influence — particularly in regions where Washington has retreated diplomatically and economically.

“China filled the void left by the U.S. in places like Africa,” said Briggs. “Now it controls about 38% of the world’s minerals. Meanwhile, Russia’s economy has doubled despite sanctions, because they preemptively reduced reliance on the dollar.”

Yet Chang sees India as a brake on any aggressive anti-Western tilt. “BRICS has an ‘I’ in it—and that’s India. Modi doesn’t want to be part of an anti-Western bloc. As long as India’s in BRICS, the rest of the world is safe.”

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A missed opportunity — or a calculated power move?

To some, Xi’s no-show signals instability in Beijing. To others, the opposite: it demonstrates confidence in China’s dominance over the other BRICS members.

“He doesn’t have to be there,” Briggs contended. “Xi’s power allows him to delegate. China is trading with nearly 80% of the world now. He’s moving the agenda forward even in absentia.”

What’s clear is that BRICS continues to evolve — its internal contradictions as visible as its geopolitical ambitions. Whether Xi’s absence marks a retreat or a recalibration remains one of the key questions hovering over the summit in Brazil.

President Donald Trump is riding a major wave of momentum after he signed his $3.3 trillion “big, beautiful bill” Friday – a final notch in a series of wins for his administration in recent weeks. 

The bill’s passage comes on the heels of other significant victories for his administration, including a Supreme Court ruling in his favor and successful strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities. 

“President Trump has delivered more wins for the American people in two weeks than most Presidents do in four years,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a Thursday statement to Fox News Digital. “This has been the most historic two weeks of any Administration in history. Thanks to President Trump, America is back and is the hottest country in the world!” 

The tax and domestic policy bill arrived on his desk after the House passed the final version of the measure Thursday – meeting Trump’s self-imposed Fourth of July deadline to get the measure over the finish line. 

The bill includes key provisions that would permanently establish individual and business tax breaks included in Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, and incorporates new tax deductions to cut duties on tips and overtime pay. 

The measure also raises the debt limit by $5 trillion – a provision that has faced scrutiny from figures such as SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. 

Furthermore, the bill rescinds certain Biden-era green energy tax credits, and allocates approximately $350 billion for defense and Trump’s mass deportation initiative to weed out illegal immigrants from the U.S. 

The measure also institutes Medicaid reforms, including new 80-hour-a-month work requirements for Medicaid recipients, and expands work requirements for those on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. 

Here are some other recent events that have gone in the Trump administration’s favor:

US strikes on Iran 

The U.S. launched strikes June 21 targeting key Iranian nuclear facilities, which involved more than 125 U.S. aircraft, according to Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. 

Following the strikes, Trump said in an address to the nation that the mission left the nuclear sites “completely and totally obliterated,” and Caine said that initial battle damage assessments suggested “all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction.” 

Still, Caine acknowledged that a final assessment would “take some time.”

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TAKES ON NEW BATTLE SHUTTING DOWN INITIAL IRAN STRIKE ASSESSMENTS

But days later, a leaked report from the Defense Intelligence Agency, published by CNN and the New York Times, cast doubt on those claims, saying that the strikes had only set back Iran’s nuclear program by several months.

However, the Pentagon said Wednesday that internal intelligence assessments indicate the strikes set back Iran’s nuclear program by one or two years. 

“We have degraded their program by one to two years, at least intel assessments inside the Department (of Defense) assess that,” Defense Department spokesman Sean Parnell told reporters Wednesday. 

Supreme Court ruling on nationwide injunctions

The Supreme Court ruled, 6–3, to block the lower courts from issuing universal injunctions on June 27. Multiple executive orders Trump has signed during his second administration have been tied up in the courts as a result of nationwide injunctions, including his ban on birthright citizenship. 

TRUMP CELEBRATES SUPREME COURT LIMITS ON ‘COLOSSAL ABUSE OF POWER’ BY FEDERAL JUDGES

The Supreme Court’s ruling means that lower courts are only permitted to issue broad injunctions in limited cases, which Trump said would prevent a “colossal abuse of power.”

“I was elected on a historic mandate, but in recent months, we’ve seen a handful of radical left judges effectively try to overrule the rightful powers of the president to stop the American people from getting the policies that they voted for in record numbers,” Trump said on June 27. 

Paramount Global agrees to settlement 

CBS News’ parent company, Paramount Global, Tuesday agreed to a $16 million settlement with Trump, stemming from a lawsuit Trump filed against CBS in October 2024 related to a “60 Minutes” interview with his opponent in the 2024 election, Vice President Kamala Harris. 

CBS BLASTS TRUMP’S LAWSUIT AS ‘MERITLESS’ DESPITE RECENT $15 MILLION SETTLEMENT OFFER

In the lawsuit, Trump alleged that CBS deceptively edited the interview with Harris when asked about why Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wasn’t “listening” to the Biden administration. While the segment aired one answer from Harris during a primetime special on the network, a less polished answer had previously appeared in a preview clip of the interview. 

The money from the settlement will not go to Trump himself, but rather, toward his future presidential library and to cover the plaintiffs’ fees and costs. CBS said it worked with a mediator to reach the settlement agreement and that Paramount will not issue an apology. 

While Democrats predict major problems with a provision within the “one big, beautiful bill” that adds a work requirement for adults to be eligible for Medicaid, Republican senators are praising the requirement, saying, “We’ve got to get back to work.”

The provision requires able-bodied, childless adults between the ages of 18 and 64 to work at least 80 hours a month to be eligible to receive Medicaid benefits. Individuals can also meet the requirement by ​​participating in community service, going to school or engaging in a work program.

“We have folks back home right now harvesting wheat that are working 20 hours in a day,” Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., told Fox News Digital. “We want you to go to college, we want to volunteer, work 20 hours a week, it brings dignity, it brings purpose to your lives. Work is a great thing; it’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

“Seven million healthy American men out there of working age are not working right now,” Marshall continued. “We happen to have seven million open jobs as well. I think I want to do everything I can to help those seven million men find a job. Whether that’s through an education or community colleges, technical colleges, I think there’s lots of opportunity out there.”

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Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., said “the disincentives to work are a real problem here in America.”

“It’s amazing that Democrats are trying to make this argument,” he said. “I don’t think that taxpayers should be footing the bill at all for able-bodied citizens. And certainly, non-citizens should not be getting the benefit of this.”

“We need to incentivize work,” Hagerty went on. “And certainly, you don’t want to be incentivizing a burden on taxpayers.”

“We’ve got to take care of the people that need to be taken care of and it’s just unfortunate you’ve got a lot of freeloaders in this country,” said Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala.

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Tuberville claimed that many of those he deemed as freeloaders “are coming from the younger ranks because they’ve grown up, they’ve got all these student loans, they got a degree that’s not worth anything, they can’t get a job or they don’t want to work and so the way they’ve done they’ve turned into socialists, they started living off the government.”

“We can’t have that. We’ve got to get back to work. This country is built on hard work,” he said.

Meanwhile, Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said he also agrees with the work requirement, telling Fox News Digital that “quite honestly, what we’re trying to do is stop enrollment in that Obamacare addition to Medicaid.”

“They call it Medicaid expansion, but it’s Obamcare. It was Democrats’ way of trying to turn us into a single-payer system. And so, it incentivized the states to sign up single able-bodied individuals,” he claimed.

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“As a result,” he went on. “We’ve created all kinds of [what] I would call legalized fraud on the part of states … Now that they’ve designed their budgets around that scam, now they’re screaming when we’re trying to end the scam.”

Additionally, while Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., expressed that “of course, we should always eliminate any kind of fraud and that kind of a waste,” other Democrats were much less enthusiastic about the work requirement.

“That provision is not designed for efficiency or to save people money that provision is designed to kick people off of Medicaid, like don’t believe the hype,” said Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn.

Murphy claimed that Republicans “have built a work requirement that they know people won’t be able to satisfy because they hate the idea that Medicaid actually helps the working poor in this country.”

“So, there’s going to be a whole bunch of people who work for a living who are not going to be able to comply with those provisions and are going to lose their healthcare, even though they’re working,” he said. “That’s the intent of the provision and everybody should just be honest about that.”

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Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., indicated that the provision will “kick 17 million people off of health insurance.”  

“These are life and death situations that people are making,” he said, adding, “This legislation is going to kick 300,000 of my constituents off of their health care coverage.”

“These are people that I’ve spoken to that can’t afford it,” he continued. “They have no money in their budget to go and buy health care. So, then they got to make a decision between eating and their rent, or they just don’t go to the doctor.”

James Agresti, president of Just Facts, a public policy research institute, told Fox News Digital that despite Democrats’ claims about the work requirements, he believes reality tells a different story.  

“The notion that able-bodied adults without young children cannot work, get an education, or volunteer for 20 hours a week is absurd,” he said.

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“Murphy’s rhetoric is refuted by decades of experience with other welfare programs that have work requirements, like Temporary Assistance for Needy Families,” he explained.

Agresti said that according to an estimate by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), 1.4 million noncitizens and 9.2 million able-bodied adults who won’t work or are engaged in fraud will be removed from Medicaid eligibility. 

A spokesperson for Kelly’s office told Fox News Digital that “a bunch of actual experts and media outlets correctly interpreting that same CBO report” estimate that 11.8 million people will be without health insurance by 2034 because of the provision, plus an additional 5.1 million because of the bill ending expanded Affordable Care Act credits.

In response, Agresti said the bill “doesn’t revoke the expanded Obamacare subsidies, which were a temporary COVID-era handout that Democrats enacted in the American Rescue Plan and extended in the Inflation Reduction Act.”

“Even the New York Times has reported that adding these numbers into the tally for the big, beautiful bill ‘is an exaggeration’ and not ‘the real number,’” said Agresti.

He also said that numerous studies have proven that the disincentive to work is a real problem in America.

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“Even Lawrence Summers, Obama’s chief economist and Clinton’s Treasury Secretary, has written that ‘government assistance programs’ provide ‘an incentive, and the means, not to work,’” he said.

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Murphy’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.