NationalWatch

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said America under President Donald Trump looks more like the C.S.A. than the U.S.A., and demanded House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., step in and “speak up” against what he called immigration enforcement “terrorism.”

Brandon Johnson said at his weekly presser that when he refers to “what terrorism looks like, this is it,” and that there is a “tyrant in the White House.”

“There should be no question to what our country would look like had the Confederacy won – we’re seeing it on full display,” the mayor said, suggesting the country is being run as if Mississippi’s Jefferson Davis rather than fellow Illinoisian Abraham Lincoln had held court in the White House as of 1864.

Brandon Johnson said the federal government is operating as a “one-branch” authority, and that checks and balances have been mooted by Trump – whom he accused of taking over the judiciary and wielding executive power as a cudgel against critics.

“They are hypocrites. They’re dangerous. There’s one branch of government right now in this country… the Congress says nothing. And so people are terrified. But in the city of Chicago, we are going to remain vigilant and firm in protecting what is sensible about our existence,” Brandon Johnson went on.

“This is literally just using the power of the federal apparatus to insert its will on whomever there’s right now in our country,” he added later in the press conference. “There’s no check and balance. It doesn’t exist right now. Speaker Johnson, who is third in [line]. If something were to happen to the president [he] won’t even raise his voice as a believer, as a believer in faith and justice; these individuals are cowards.”

As he took questions from reporters, an aide appeared to snipe at one reporter being called on, asking him to keep his question short.

CHICAGO MAYOR CALLS DOGE ‘ACT OF WAR,’ COMPARES SECOND TRUMP TERM TO THIRD REICH

“Jeez, I thought the theme of today’s press conference was ‘freedom of speech,’” the reporter quipped, before asking Brandon Johnson about accountability to Chicago taxpayers in terms of his lax immigration stance.

The reporter noted Brandon Johnson earlier this week had called for Chicagoans to “rise up” against ICE.

“You have called on [them]… to fight back against ICE – Many Chicagoans, including Black and brown [residents], tell me that that sounds like a call to violence. In light of the violence that we’re seeing in Los Angeles now, the looting, the damage to property, the attacks on law enforcement, would you consider withdrawing that violent call to violence?” the reporter asked.

The mayor bluntly responded: “I believe in nonviolence.”

“The real Chicagoans are now facing tax increases because you’ve spent millions of their tax dollars on migrants… Why would you think that real Chicagoans should trust you to spend their money after you’ve already wasted millions of it on illegal aliens?” the reporter asked.

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The mayor replied, “we are investing in people” and quickly moved to another question.

As one of the reporters assembled alluded to, Brandon Johnson’s approval rating in the Windy City has cratered over time, sinking below 20% as of February according to FOX-32, with some reports that it is edging toward single digits.

Chicago has not seated a Republican mayor since William Thompson left office in 1931.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and Speaker Mike Johnson for comment.

A U.S. appeals court agreed to pause a lower court order requiring the Trump administration to provide due process to hundreds of Venezuelan migrants deported from the U.S. to El Salvador under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act in a near-term victory for the Trump administration. 

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit granted the Justice Department’s request for an administrative stay, putting on hold a lower court order handed down last week by U.S. District Judge James Boasberg.

Last Wednesday, Boasberg ruled that the migrants deported solely on the basis of the Alien Enemies Act immigration law did not have prior notice of their removals or the ability to challenge their removals in court, in a violation of due process.

He ordered the Trump administration to provide migrants deported under the law the opportunity to seek habeas relief, and the opportunity to challenge their alleged gang member status that the administration had pointed to as the basis for their removal.

WHO IS JAMES BOASBERG, THE US JUDGE AT THE CENTER OF TRUMP’S DEPORTATION EFFORTS?

Boasberg had given the Trump administration through Wednesday to submit to the court plans for how it would go about providing habeas relief to the plaintiffs in CECOT, the maximum security prison in El Salvador. 

This week, lawyers for the Trump administration filed an emergency motion to stay the ruling in both the U.S. District Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on Tuesday, one day before that plan was due, seeking additional time to respond to the underlying merits of Boasberg’s ruling.

Justice Department officials argued that Boasberg did not have jurisdiction in the case, as the migrants are detained in El Salvador, and said his order interfered “with the president’s removal of dangerous criminal aliens from the United States.”

Boasberg’s final order last week did not attempt to determine who had jurisdiction. Instead, he set the matter aside, and said the individuals could remain in custody at CECOT, so long as the government submitted plans to the court for how they would be provided a chance to challenge their removal under the Alien Enemies Act.

The Trump administration still took umbrage with that ruling, which it blasted earlier this week in their appeal as “unprecedented, baseless and constitutionally offensive.”

SUPREME COURT GRANTS TRUMP REQUEST TO LIFT STAY HALTING VENEZUELAN DEPORTATIONS

“The district court’s increasingly fantastical injunctions continue to threaten serious harm to the government’s national-security and foreign-affairs interests,” they told the circuit court. 

The court “correctly ruled that the United States lacks constructive custody over the aliens held at CECOT and therefore that this Court lacks jurisdiction over their habeas claims,” attorneys for the Justice Department said in their motion. “That should have been the end of this case.”

That order sparked fierce backlash from senior Trump officials, who have blasted Bosaberg and other federal judges who have ruled in ways unfavorable to them as “activist judges.”

Boasberg, however, was the first federal judge to try to block Trump’s attempt to use the law to summarily deport certain migrants to El Salvador earlier this year, putting him squarely in the crosshairs of the Trump administration. 

On March 15, he granted a temporary restraining order attempting to block the first wave of deportation flights to El Salvador, and ordered the administration to “immediately” return to the U.S. all planes that had already departed.

That did not happen, however, and the planes landed hours later in El Salvador.

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In the months since, Boasberg attempted to hold various fact-finding hearings to determine who knew what, and when, about the flights. 

He later found probable cause to hold the administration in contempt of the court, citing the government’s “willful disregard” for his March 15 emergency order, though those proceedings were later halted by a federal appeals court.

Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote a dissent to the Supreme Court’s decision to limit the U.S. Tax Court’s authority in certain Internal Revenue Service (IRS) cases, asserting that the federal tax collecting service could avoid accountability in the future.

Gorsuch wrote the dissent to the high court’s opinion in Commissioner of Internal Revenue v. Zuch, a case that centers on Jennifer Zuch’s dispute with the IRS that began in 2012 over the agency’s moves regarding her late 2010 federal tax return filing. 

“Along the way, the Court’s decision hands the IRS a powerful new tool to avoid accountability for its mistakes in future cases like this one,” Gorsuch wrote in his dissent.

In this case, Zuch claimed that the IRS made a mistake, crediting a $50,000 payment to her then-husband’s account instead of her own. The IRS disagreed and sought to collect her unpaid taxes with a levy to seize and sell her property.

SUPREME COURT RULES DOGE CAN ACCESS SOCIAL SECURITY INFORMATION

Over the years after the dispute began, Zuch filed several annual tax returns showing overpayments. Instead of being issued refunds, the IRS applied these to her outstanding 2010 tax liability.

Once the IRS settled Zuch’s outstanding sum, her liability reached zero, and the IRS no longer had a reason to levy her property.

The IRS then moved to dismiss Zuch’s case in Tax Court, arguing that Tax Court lacked jurisdiction since there was no longer a levy on her property. The Tax Court agreed.

TRUMP ADMIN ASKS SUPREME COURT TO LIFT INJUNCTION BLOCKING DISMANTLING OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

The Supreme Court upheld that Tax Court no longer had jurisdiction without a levy.

“Because there was no longer a proposed levy, the Tax Court properly concluded that it lacked jurisdiction to resolve questions about Zuch’s disputed tax liability,” read the high court’s opinion.

The decision will not only prevent Zuch from recouping her overpayments that she believes the IRS has wrongly retained, but give the IRS a way to avoid accountability, Gorsuch wrote in his dissent.

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“The IRS seeks, and the Court endorses, a view of the law that gives that agency a roadmap for evading Tax Court review and never having to answer a taxpayer’s complaint that it has made a mistake,” the justice wrote.

The war of words between President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, appears to be over, and there are signs of some reconciliation.

However, a new poll suggests that the verbal attacks by Musk, who spent the first four months of Trump’s second administration as a special White House advisor steering the recently created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), have hurt his standing among Republicans.

Sixty-two percent of Republicans hold a favorable opinion of Musk, the billionaire CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, according to a Quinnipiac University national poll released on Wednesday.

That is down 16 points from a Quinnipiac survey in March, when 78% of Republicans viewed Musk in a favorable way.

TRUMP SAYS HE’S OPEN TO RECONCILING WITH MUSK 

Among all voters, 30% held a favorable opinion of Musk, with 57% viewing him unfavorably. Favorable opinions of Musk dropped six points from Quinnipiac’s March survey, with the unfavorable rating holding steady.

Musk went all in for Trump last summer and autumn. He endorsed the then-GOP presidential nominee in July right after the assassination attempt against Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania.

MUSKS SAYS HIS SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS ATTACKING TRUMP ‘WENT TOO FAR’

Musk became the top donor of the 2024 election cycle, dishing out nearly $300 million in support of Trump’s bid through America PAC, a mostly Musk-funded super PAC aligned with Trump.

Trump named Musk to steer DOGE soon after the November election, and the president repeatedly praised Musk during his headline-making and controversial tenure at DOGE.

The feud broke out days after Musk left the White House late last month, as he dubbed the administration’s massive landmark spending bill – which Trump calls his “big, beautiful bill” – a “disgusting abomination,” which he said would sink the nation into unsustainable debt.

Musk also argued that Trump would not have won last year’s presidential election without all his support. 

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

Trump and Musk traded fire with blistering social media posts, with Musk even claiming without evidence that the government was concealing information about Trump’s association with infamous pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Musk later deleted the post.

Musk on Wednesday wrote on his well-watched X account, “I regret some of my posts about President @realDonaldTrump last week. They went too far.”

Trump said in a podcast interview with the New York Post that was published on Wednesday that “things like that happen. I don’t blame him for anything.”

However, when asked about Musk’s apology as he spoke with reporters later in the day, the president said “I really haven’t thought too much about it.”

During his months at DOGE, Musk aimed, but fell far short, of trimming $2 trillion from the federal government’s budget.

According to the Quinnipiac poll, 38% of voters said that Musk did an excellent or good job at DOGE, with 57% describing his tenure as not so good or poor.

However, 80% of Republicans questioned said Musk’s work was excellent or good, with just 13% viewing his tenure at DOGE as not so good or poor.

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“Though Musk isn’t as popular with Republicans as he once was, he and DOGE get a hearty high five from a healthy majority of Republicans,” Quinnpiac University polling analyst Tim Malloy said in a statement.

The Quinnipiac poll was conducted June 5-9, with 1,265 registered voters across the country questioned. The survey’s overall sampling error is plus or minus 2.8 percentage points.

The fate of President Donald Trump’s $9.4 billion spending cuts request could rest on the shoulders of a handful of moderate House Republicans.

The House of Representatives is set to consider the measure on Thursday afternoon, which cuts $8.3 billion in funds to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and just over $1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which routes federal funds to NPR and PBS.

But at least four GOP lawmakers are known to have expressed at least some concerns about various aspects of the package. 

House Republican leaders have a razor-thin, three-seat majority in the chamber, which means any dissent beyond that could sink the bill.

MIKE JOHNSON, DONALD TRUMP GET ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL’ WIN AS BUDGET PASSES HOUSE

None of the four Republicans – Reps. Mark Amodei, R-Nev.; David Valadao, R-Calif.; Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y.; and Don Bacon, R-Neb. – have said how they will vote on the bill, however. They also all approved a procedural vote to allow for debate on the measure.

But Amodei, co-chair of the Public Broadcasting Caucus, told Fox News Digital on Wednesday afternoon that he was not worried about NPR and PBS’ national brands, with which he acknowledged the GOP’s bias concerns, and that his fear was gutting funding to smaller local outlets that rely on federal funding to keep people informed in areas with less access.

“These aren’t the people that are doing editorial boards that are flipping you the bird,” Amodei argued to his fellow Republicans. “They’re kind of important pieces of infrastructure in their communities.”

Amodei, who is intimately familiar with the government funding process as a House appropriator, said “a whole bunch of red counties” depend on public broadcast funding.

“It’s easier for the nationals to raise money if they’ve got to make up for some funding they lost than it is these guys,” he said.

Valadao, who represents a California swing district, told Politico he was not sure if the measure would pass.

He declined to elaborate on his concerns to Fox News Digital, however, and his office did not respond to a request for clarification.

Meanwhile, Malliotakis told reporters on Wednesday that she met with Republican voters in her district who wanted PBS funding preserved – but that her real concern was the process.

“I think that there’s a lot of questions that members have regarding what programs specifically are going to be cut. This is a broad look at general accounts. We are, at the end of the day, the Congress that holds the power of the purse. We’re the ones who we’re supposed to be identifying where funding is going. And this gives a lot of discretion to the White House to be doing that unilaterally without Congress,” Malliotakis said.

“I think there’s a large number of members that do have concerns about that. And whether members are going to vote yes or no is a different story in this place. But I have, certainly, reservations…and we’ll see how things go.”

Bacon, one of three House Republicans representing a district that former Vice President Kamala Harris won in 2024, told reporters Tuesday morning that he was feeling better about the legislation after getting assurances that the foreign aid cuts would not gut money for critical medical research.

MCCAUL TOUTS MONEY IN TRUMP TAX BILL TO PAY TEXAS BACK FOR FIGHTING BIDEN BORDER POLICIES

He did not say whether his earlier concerns about PBS and NPR were alleviated, however, nor did he say how he would vote on the bill.

Bacon told reporters last week, “It does bother me, because I have a great rapport with Nebraska Public Radio and TV.”

Fox News Digital reached out both to Bacon directly and to his office for clarification on his current stance.

The $9.4 billion proposal is called a rescissions package, a mechanism for the White House to block congressionally approved funding it disagrees with.

Once transmitted to Capitol Hill, lawmakers have 45 days to approve the rescissions proposal, otherwise it is considered rejected. 

Such measures only need a simple majority in the House and Senate to pass. But that’s no easy feat with Republicans’ thin majorities in both chambers.

If passed, Republican leaders hope the bill will be the first of several rescissions packages codifying spending cuts identified by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

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Musk set out with a goal of finding $2 trillion in federal waste, but wound up identifying about $180 billion.

House GOP leaders lauded the proposal during their weekly press conference on Tuesday.

“These are commonsense cuts. And I think every member of this body should support it. It’s a critical step in restoring fiscal sanity and beginning to turn the tides and removing fraud, waste, and abuse from our government,” Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said.

FIRST ON FOX – Rep. Darin LaHood, R-Ill., is introducing a new bill Thursday imploring the National Security Administration (NSA) to develop an “AI security playbook” to stay ahead of threats from China and other foreign adversaries. 

The bill, dubbed the “Advanced AI Security Readiness Act,” directs the NSA’s Artificial Intelligence Security Center to develop an “AI Security Playbook to address vulnerabilities, threat detection, cyber and physical security strategies, and contingency plans for highly sensitive AI systems.” 

It is co-sponsored by House Select Committee on China Chairman Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Mich., Ranking Member Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., and Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J. 

LaHood, who sits on the House Intelligence Committee and the House Select Committee on China, told Fox News Digital that the legislative proposal, if passed, would be the first time Congress codifies a “multi-prong approach to ensure that the U.S. remains ahead in the advanced technology race against the CCP.” He said the bill will improve export control mechanisms – including for chips and high capacity chip manufacturing – protect covered AI technologies with a focus on cybersecurity, and limit outbound investment to firms directly tied to the Chinese Community Party or China’s People’s Liberation Army. 

CHINESE BIOWEAPON SMUGGLING CASE SHOWS US ‘TRAINS OUR ENEMIES,’ ‘LEARNED NOTHING’ FROM COVID: SECURITY EXPERT

“We start with the premise that China has a plan to replace the United States. And I don’t say that to scare people or my constituents, but they have a plan to replace the United States, and they’re working on it every single day. And that entails stealing data and infiltrating our systems,” LaHood told Fox News Digital. “AI is the next frontier on that. We lead the world in technology. We lead the world when it comes to AI. But what this bill will do will again make sure that things are done the right way and the correct way, and that we’re protecting our assets and promoting the current technology that we have in our country.” 

LaHood pointed to evidence uncovered by the committee that he said shows the CCP’s DeepSeek used illegal distillation techniques to steal insights from U.S. AI models to accelerate their own technology development. He also pointed to how China allegedly smuggled AI chips through Singapore intermediaries to circumvent U.S. export controls on the technology. 

“As we look at, ‘How do we win the strategic competition?’ I think most experts would say we’re ahead in AI right now against China, but not by much. It is a short lead,” LaHood told Fox News Digital.

He said he is confident the bill will put the U.S. “in the best position to protect our assets here and make sure that we’re not shipping things that shouldn’t go to AI that allow them to win the AI race in China.”

“Whoever wins this race in the future, it’s going to be critical to future warfare capabilities, to, obviously, cybersecurity,” LaHood continued. “And then, whoever wins the AI competition is going to yield really unwavering economic influence in the future. And so we’re aggressive in this bill in terms of targeting those areas where we need to protect our AI and our companies here in the United States, both on the commercial side and on the government side, to put us in the best position possible.” 

The legislative proposal calls on the NSA to develop a playbook that identifies vulnerabilities in AI data centers and developers producing sensitive AI technologies with an emphasis on unique “threat vectors” that do not typically arise, or are less severe, in the context of conventional information technology systems.” The bill says the NSA must develop “core insights” in how advanced AI systems are being trained to identify potential interferences and must develop strategies to “detect, prevent and respond to cyber threats by threat actors targeting covered AI technologies.” 

AMAZON ANNOUNCES $20B INVESTMENT IN RURAL PENNSYLVANIA FOR AI DATA CENTERS

The bill calls on the NSA to “identify levels of security, if any, that would require substantial involvement” by the U.S. government “in the development or oversight of highly advanced AI systems.” It cites a “hypothetical initiative to build covered AI technology systems in a highly secure government environment” with certain protocols in place, such as personnel vetting and security clearance processes, to mitigate “insider threats.” 

Though not directly related, the legislation is being introduced a week after FBI Director Kash Patel sounded the alarm on how the CCP continues to deploy operatives and researchers to “infiltrate” U.S. institutions. Patel laid out the risk in announcing that two Chinese nationals were charged with smuggling a potential bioweapon into the U.S. 

LaHood said that case further highlights “the level of penetration and sophistication that the CCP will engage in,” but he added that his bill focuses on putting a “protective layer” on U.S. AI tech and “restricting outbound investment to China.” He pointed to how the CCP also has bought up farmland around strategic U.S. national security locations, particularly in Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota. 

“If everything was an even playing field, and we were all abiding by the same rules and standards and ethical guidelines, I have no doubt the U.S. would win [the AI race], but China has a tendency and a history of playing by a different set of rules and standards,” LaHood said. “They cheat, they steal, they take our intellectual property. Not just my opinion, that’s been factually laid out, you know, in many different instances. And that’s the reason why we need to have a bill like this.” 

The bill comes as the Trump administration has been pushing to bolster artificial intelligence infrastructure in the United States, and major tech companies, including Amazon, Nvidia, Meta, OpenAI, Oracle and others, have made major investments in constructing AI-focused data centers and enhancing U.S. cloud computing. Last week, Amazon announced a $20 billion investment in constructing AI data centers in rural Pennsylvania. It followed a similar $10 billion investment in North Carolina. 

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In late May, the NSA’s Artificial Intelligence Security Center released “joint guidance” on the “risks and best practices in AI data security.” The recommendations include implementing methods to secure the data used in AI-based systems, “such as employing digital signatures to authenticate trusted revisions, tracking data provenance, and leveraging trusted infrastructure.” The center said its guidance is “critically relevant for organizations – especially system owners and administrators within the Department of Defense, National Security Systems, and the Defense Industrial Base – that already use AI systems in their day-to-day operations and those that are seeking to integrate AI into their infrastructure.” 

Democratic “sanctuary governors” will face a barrage of tough questions at a highly anticipated congressional hearing Thursday morning, as California Gov. Gavin Newsom and President Donald Trump continue to throw jabs over immigration policy.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker will testify before the House Oversight Committee and sources tell Fox that Los Angeles riots over Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids and Newsom’s battle with Trump will likely be prominent topics of discussion.  

GOP LEADERSHIP UNLEASHES FURY ON DEM GOVERNOR AHEAD OF BLOCKBUSTER CONGRESSIONAL HEARING

Fox News Digital obtained opening remarks to be delivered by Oversight Chairman James Comer, R-Kentucky, which will set the tone for the fiery hearing. 

“These Governors handcuff law enforcement from doing their jobs, harbor predators, and call it ‘compassion,’” Comer’s opening remarks explain. “It is NOT compassion, and it is costing lives, hurting Americans, and draining taxpayer money. Congress must consider whether to defund every single penny of federal dollars going to cities and states that prioritize criminal aliens over the American people.” 

GAVIN NEWSOM MOCKED FOR TECH ISSUES DURING ANTI-TRUMP ADDRESS TO CALIFORNIANS: ‘ABSOLUTE FAIL’

“Americans want a return to common sense. The Trump Administration and this Republican Congress aims to restore our safety and sovereignty. It is past time for these governors to put Americans first.”

All three Democratic governors testifying at the hearing sided with Newsom in a statement Sunday addressing Trump’s use of the National Guard to dispel riots that have been raging over the past few days in Los Angeles. Rioters set cars on fire, looted businesses, and clashed with law enforcement. 

“We stand with Governor Newsom who has made it clear that violence is unacceptable and that local authorities should be able to do their jobs without the chaos of this federal interference and intimidation,” the statement signed by Walz, Pritzker, and Hochul reads.

LOS ANGELES BUSINESS OWNERS ‘SICK AND TIRED’ OF ‘STUPID’ ANTI-ICE RIOTERS LOOTING THEIR STORES

Since LA’s riots, protests over President Trump’s immigration policies have since spread to Pritzker and Hochul’s states on Tuesday with large gatherings in Lower Manhattan in New York and Federal Plaza in Chicago, blocking off streets and causing disruptions.

Fox News Digital also received J.B. Pritzker’s opening remarks, where the governor and potential 2028 presidential candidate said his state “could not simply ignore the suffering” illegal migrants faced in Illionis.

“The crisis at the southern border in recent years has been devastating; the response from some of our political leaders even more so,” Prtizker’s statement reads. “As individuals fleeing poverty, violence, and persecution arrived at our border, our nation’s leaders were confronted with a choice: would we do everything possible to make the promise of America the practice of America?” 

JB PRITZKER RIPS TRUMP AS ‘AUTHORITARIAN,’ RESPONDS TO PRESIDENT CALLING OUT HIS WEIGHT

“Some border state governors and mayors abandoned our nation’s highest ideals – instead of choosing to spend millions of taxpayer dollars to treat people as pawns, busing them to states like ours in a dehumanizing attempt to leverage the crisis for political gain. The State of Illinois chose a different path.”

Republican members on the Oversight Committee spoke to Fox News Digital ahead of Thursday’s action, saying the three governors testifying “are willing to trade public safety for left-wing virtue signaling.”

“Democrat-run sanctuary states shield criminal aliens from federal immigration enforcement, put law enforcement in unnecessary danger, and disregard the safety of millions of Americans,” House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan told Fox News Digital. “Seventy-seven million people gave President Trump a mandate last November to put an end to the Democrats’ prioritization of illegal aliens over American citizens. And he’s doing just that.” 

NATIONAL GUARD TROOPS DETAIN ANTI-ICE PROTESTERS IN LOS ANGELES UNDER TRUMP’S ORDERS

“To folks like Walz, Hochul and Pritzker, sanctuary state policies are a badge of honor. They are willing to trade public safety for left-wing virtue signaling,” said Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Texas, explained to Fox News Digital. 

“Perhaps Governor Gavin Newsom will take a break from defying federal authority to tune in and see why Americans are fleeing California in droves to escape his failed policies that invite illegal migrant crime and anarchist thugs,” Fallon added. 

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The stage is set for the hearing, which will take place on Thursday at 10 AM eastern time.

Fox News Digital reached out to Hochul and Walz but did not receive a response. 

Preston Mizell is a writer with Fox News Digital covering breaking news. Story tips can be sent to Preston.Mizell@fox.com and on X @MizellPreston

National Guardsmen deployed to Los Angeles have the authority to temporarily detain anti-ICE rioters in Los Angeles, the Department of Homeland Security says.

President Donald Trump has deployed some 4,000 National Guardsmen to the city as the riots continue, but Maj. Gen. Scott Sherman said on Wednesday that there have only been a small number of cases where they have detained civilians.

DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin says the troops are on the ground to provide protection for ICE agents and other federal law enforcement groups.

“If any rioters attack ICE law enforcement officers, military personnel have the authority to temporarily detain them until law enforcement makes the arrest,” McLaughlin told Axios in a statement.

NEWSOM FILES EMERGENCY MOTION TO ‘IMMEDIATELY BLOCK’ TRUMP’S USE OF MILITARY TO STOP LA RIOTS

TRUMP TAKES ACTION AGAINST ‘ORCHESTRATED ATTACK’ ON LAW ENFORCEMENT BY DEPLOYING MARINES TO LA: ASSEMBLYMAN

Sherman told the Associated Press on Wednesday that about 500 National Guard troops have been trained so far to help agents carry out immigration operations in Los Angeles.

Immigration officials have already circulated photos of soldiers from the National Guard providing security for Department of Homeland Security agents.

He told the AP that over the past few days, National Guard soldiers have temporarily detained anti-ICE protesters, though there have not been many as of late because things have calmed down.

Sherman also said the soldiers did not participate in the arrests or law enforcement activities. Instead, he added, they let the agitators go once police take them into custody.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has had a public feud with the Trump administration, accusing the president of having “commandeered” 2,000 of the state’s National Guard members “illegally, for no reason” without consulting with California’s law enforcement leaders.

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The Trump administration, meanwhile, said its ICE operations are aiming to get “criminal illegal immigrant killers, rapists, gangbangers, drug dealers, human traffickers and domestic abusers off the streets.”

Fox News’ Greg Wehner contributed to this report.

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., who recently called out the “anarchy and true chaos” that has occurred in Los Angeles, doubled down on his anti-violence message in a post on Wednesday that featured a “DO” and “DO NOT” list.

“WIN THE ARGUMENT,” Fetterman’s post on X reads, before the list, which indicates that people should not “loot,” light “s[—] on fire,” or “assault law enforcement,” but that they should “protest peacefully,” “organize to win elections,” and “call out destructive behavior like this.” 

The tweet featured a photo of burning vehicles. 

FETTERMAN EMERGES AS DEMS’ ‘VOICE OF REASON’ AS LA BURNS, CONSERVATIVES SAY

Sen. Dave McCormick, R-PA., agreed with his Keystone State colleague.

“Well said, John,” the Republican noted in a post on X.

FETTERMAN CALLS OUT ‘ANARCHY’ IN LA, NOTING THAT DEMS FORFEIT ‘MORAL HIGH GROUND’ BY FAILING TO DECRY VIOLENCE

Earlier this week, Fetterman declared in a tweet, “I unapologetically stand for free speech, peaceful demonstrations, and immigration—but this is not that. This is anarchy and true chaos. My party loses the moral high ground when we refuse to condemn setting cars on fire, destroying buildings, and assaulting law enforcement.”

Republican Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona agreed with Fetterman.

NATIONAL GUARD TROOPS DETAIN ANTI-ICE PROTESTERS IN LOS ANGELES UNDER TRUMP’S ORDERS

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“I didn’t have agreeing with Senator Fetterman on my bingo card today but he’s not wrong,” Gosar noted.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker will be among several Democratic governors who are expected to face a grilling before GOP lawmakers during a Thursday hearing on their states’ controversial sanctuary status. 

According to prepared remarks obtained by Fox News Digital, Pritzker will defend his state’s policies, saying his administration was left to fill the void in the absence of help from the federal government in dealing with the border crisis.  

He will accuse certain border state governors and mayors of having abandoned the nation’s highest ideals by having spent millions of taxpayer dollars treating immigrants as “pawns” rather than doing “everything possible to make the promise of America the practice of America.” 

He will take aim at Republican Govs. Greg Abbott of Texas and Ron DeSantis of Florida for having bused illegal immigrants to predominantly liberal cities and states in the north – actions, he will argue, were political stunts that only exacerbated the problem. 

BLUE STATE GOVERNOR VOWS ‘RESISTANCE’ AS TRUMP ADMIN TARGETS SANCTUARY POLICIES

Pritzker will say that Illinois’ resources were strained because of a lack of federal support – from both Republicans and Democrats – during the crisis. 

The Democratic governor is expected to highlight his state’s efforts to address the influx of immigrants into the “Land of Lincoln” by processing new arrivals, supporting temporary shelter and permanent housing, and enabling them to live independently and contribute to the economy. 

ILLINOIS GOV. JB PRITZKER MOVES TO BOYCOTT EL SALVADOR FOR AIDING TRUMP OVER KILMAR ABREGO GARCIA’S DETENTION

Pritzker will note that even though state resources were strained during this period, it did not stop his administration from focusing on public safety by investing in state and local law enforcement, including the Illinois State Police (ISP) troopers. He will highlight statistics showing that violent crime has gone down under his stewardship. 

Pritzker will reaffirm his intolerance for violent criminals – whether documented or undocumented – and note that Illinois law enables government employees to cooperate with federal immigration officers executing criminal warrants. 

He is expected to say that federal officials are welcome to operate in Illinois but will make clear that Illinois will not divert limited resources when it is not in the best interest of the state. He will say that he wants residents to feel comfortable turning to local law enforcement for help.  

Pritzker is also expected to invoke his own family’s history, having fled to the U.S. to escape the Russian massacre of Jews in Ukraine. 

He is expected to implore Congress to fix the nation’s broken immigration system so that law-abiding immigrant families can have the same opportunity his family did. The governor will close his remarks by arguing that reforming the system does not have to come at the expense of securing the border. 

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Pritzker will be joined by fellow Democratic Govs. Tim Walz of Minnesota and Kathy Hochul of New York. “A Hearing with Sanctuary State Governors” begins will at 10 a.m. EST before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. 

Fox News’ Paul Steinheiser contributed to this report. 

EXCLUSIVE: A group of DOGE-minded lawmakers is rolling out a series of budget proposals to add to the Senate version of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act narrowly passed by the House.

The effort, led by Senate DOGE Caucus Chairwoman Joni Ernst, will include several major proposals forged by Republicans from both chambers, seeking to help offset trillions in extant government spending.

While a $9.4 billion rescissions package, a formal request from the executive branch to codify its DOGE cuts, is in the works, proponents of the Senate DOGE package say their total estimated savings would accentuate that and also surpass it in value.

NATIONAL DEBT TRACKER: AMERICAN TAXPAYERS (YOU) ARE NOW ON THE HOOK FOR $36,215,685,667.36 AS OF 6/9/25

“We have a ‘big, beautiful’ opportunity to reduce reckless spending and save billions of dollars,” Ernst told Fox News Digital Thursday. 

“Defunding welfare for politicians, stopping bogus payments and ending unemployment for millionaires are just the start of my commonsense solutions to continue rooting out waste, fraud and abuse. Washington has lived high on the hog for far too long, and now is the time to tighten the belt,” the Senate DOGE chairwoman added.

Senate DOGE addendums to the Big Beautiful Bill Act during negotiations will include a plan from Ernst called the ELECT Act, which she said claws back hundreds of millions of dollars treated as “welfare for politicians.”

While $320 million from the fund was diverted to the Secret Service last year, the current $17 million sitting in the account is expected to rise to the $400 million it typically sat at by the end of the year, Fox News Digital has learned.

‘AMERICA HAS DOGE FEVER’: STATES FROM NJ TO TX DRAFT SIMILAR INITIATIVES AS FEDERAL LEADERS CELEBRATE

Partnered in that first piece of the DOGE package is also language stripping former presidents of certain perks like additional taxpayer-funded office space and non-security-related staff.

More than a dozen Senate Republicans also signed onto that portion of the package.

“The federal government must be held accountable for every tax dollar spent,” said co-sponsor Mike Lee of Utah.

House DOGE Caucus Chair Aaron Bean, R-Fla., also contributed to the package. The Senate version of his DOGE in Spending Act will be included in Senate negotiations.

That portion requires any government expenditure to be accompanied by a tangible record to be provided to the Treasury after DOGE found $160 billion in taxpayer funds being distributed without an identification code or in a fraudulent manner.

“The American people deserve a government that is efficient, accountable and fiscally responsible. That’s why the House successfully advanced DOGE reforms through reconciliation that will safeguard America’s financial future,” Bean told Fox News Digital. 

“I encourage the Senate to build on the work we’ve done in the House to deliver lasting fiscal responsibility to the American people.”

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Other pieces of the Senate’s DOGE package include ending what proponents call “unemployment for millionaires,” disqualifying people earning more than $1 million per year who lose their jobs from any unemployment support.

More than $271 million had been disbursed to that bloc between 2021-2023, proponents said.

Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., a former chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, is leading the Protecting Taxpayers’ Wallet Act in the lower chamber. The bill’s language, which ends taxpayer-funded union time when government workers negotiate their contracts while on the clock, will be included in the Senate DOGE package.

Another portion will compel the sale of six unused or underutilized federal buildings in Washington, D.C., that lawmakers say would free up $400 million in savings annually.

The final portion will “snap back inaccurate SNAP payments,” Ernst said.

The effort will work to identify errors, force collection of overpayments to SNAP recipients and hold states with high levels of their own payment inaccuracies accountable for their negligence.

In 2023, approximately $11 billion in SNAP funds were overpaid, but the package’s authors noted individual errors of $54 or less aren’t included in the tally.

Democrats have been critical of DOGE efforts and the separate rescissions package. Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., told Fox News Thursday a successful version of the latter hasn’t passed since the first Bush administration.

“Congress’ role in setting spending would be done away with, so this first rescission should be defeated,” he said.

Fox News’ Tyler Olson contributed to this report.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is being mocked online for an “embarrassing” televised address on Tuesday night that experienced several technology meltdowns, resulting in the governor not being audible for parts of his speech.

In a prerecorded message, Newsom, a Democrat rumored to have presidential aspirations, harshly condemned President Donald Trump’s “brazen abuse of power” by using the military to respond to the ongoing anti-ICE riots in Los Angeles. He also said that those who engage in violence will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

“This isn’t just about protests here in Los Angeles,” Newsom said in the video. “This is about all of us. This is about you. California may be first, but it clearly will not end here. Other states are next. Democracy is next. Democracy is under assault before our eyes.”

His address, however, was inhibited by several technical issues, which resulted in his audio being cut off and distorted several times.

NEWSOM COMPARED TO INFAMOUS DEM GOVERNOR WHO ALSO TRIED TO BLOCK NATIONAL GUARD

Noting the meltdown on X, David Freeman, a conservative political commentator, mocked “Gavin Newsom’s staff can’t even set up a stream properly as his ‘Major Announcement’ has NO AUDIO.”

“If they can’t do this correct, what makes anyone believe they can run California at all? EMBARRASSING!” said Freeman.

“UTTER CALAMITY,” commented Link Lauren, a political commentator and former senior advisor to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Kevin Dalton, a popular conservative influencer, commented, “Gavin Newsom’s ‘Major Address to Californians’ was a prerecorded video that was initially streamed without audio. After several minutes, a new color corrected version of the same video with actual audio was started. What an absolute fail.”

NOW AND THEN: HOW TRUMP’S RESPONSE TO LA RIOTS HAS CHANGED FROM 2020 BLACK LIVES MATTER AND ANTIFA

Another popular conservative social media account, The Washington Observer, commented: “Sean Hannity is desperately trying to play Gavin Newsom’s speech — but he can’t, because Newsom’s audio is melting down for the third time tonight.”

Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., who observed the audio issues in real time on the “Sean Hannity Show,” also chimed in, saying, “So, I went on Sean Hannity to react to Gavin Newsom’s speech. Turns out, it was a total mess. Disorganized. Bad audio.”

Mullin quipped, “But, what else should we expect from this poor excuse for a leader?”

White House assistant to the president and director of communications Steven Cheung also piled onto the criticism, accusing Newsom of spending time creating the video rather than serving as governor. Likewise, Cheung took a swipe at the video’s audio, claiming the production quality was akin to Newsom’s leadership. 

“Gavin NewScum spent all this time–instead of doing his actual job– preparing for a webinar just for the audio to not work,” Cheung said in a post on X late Tuesday evening. “The production quality is just like his leadership quality– s—ty.”

WHITE HOUSE MOCKS NEWSOM ADDRESS, ACCUSES GOVERNOR OF HIRING HARRIS’, BIDEN’S CAMPAIGN MANAGER

Deputy assistant to the president and principal deputy communications director Alex Pfeiffer responded to Newsom’s speech by saying that rather than Trump, “California is trying to subvert democracy.”

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“American voters elected President Donald Trump to carry out his agenda, which includes enforcing the immigration laws passed by their elected representatives,” said Pfeiffer. 

In response, Newsom’s press office referred Fox News Digital to a Tuesday night X post, which acknowledged the issues by saying, “Sorry for the momentary silence earlier — our stream briefly went under Trump-era transparency rules.” 

Fox News Digital’s Diana Stancy and Landon Mion contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump’s $9.4 billion spending cuts package survived a key hurdle on Wednesday afternoon, setting the measure up for a final House-wide vote later this week.

Trump’s proposal, which was introduced as legislation by House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., would cut $8.3 billion from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and just over $1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting distributes federal funding to NPR and PBS.

The House of Representatives made a procedural motion known as a “rule vote,” which passed mostly along party lines. 

MIKE JOHNSON, DONALD TRUMP GET ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL’ WIN AS BUDGET PASSES HOUSE

The rule passing now allows for debate on the $9.4 billion spending cut measure, followed by a final House-wide vote.

But it’s not atypical for House leaders to include unrelated measures in rule votes, as is the case with the spending cuts package – House GOP leaders included a provision with minor changes to Trump’s “one big, beautiful bill” to account for the Senate needing to amend the bill.

That latter piece of legislation, a vast tax and immigration bill, is moving through the budget reconciliation process.

By dropping the Senate’s threshold for advancement from 60 votes to 51, it allows the party in power to skirt the minority – in this case, Democrats – on vast pieces of legislation, provided they adhere to a specific set of budgetary rules.

House GOP leaders said they needed to make the recent changes to the bill to better adhere to the Senate’s “Byrd Bath,” when the Senate parliamentarian reviews the bill and removes anything not adhering to reconciliation guidelines.

Whereas that deals with the government’s mandatory spending processes that are more difficult to amend, the $9.4 billion spending cuts package tackles discretionary spending that Congress controls every year.

It’s called a “rescissions package,” which is a formal proposal by the White House to claw back federal funds already allocated for the current fiscal year.

Like reconciliation, the mechanism allows for a 51-vote majority in the Senate rather than 60. Congress has 45 days to consider it, or it is deemed rejected.

Republican leaders have held up this rescissions package as the first step to codifying the billions of dollars of government waste identified by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Trump allies have also made clear they view this first package as a test of what kind of cuts congressional Republicans can stomach.

MCCAUL TOUTS MONEY IN TRUMP TAX BILL TO PAY TEXAS BACK FOR FIGHTING BIDEN BORDER POLICIES

And while the rule vote was expected to pass, the bill could have trouble ahead of its expected Thursday afternoon vote.

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Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nev., pointed out in a bipartisan statement that the media funding represents less than 0.01% of the federal budget and said taking that money away would “dismantle a trusted source of information for millions of Americans.”

Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., told reporters on Tuesday that he got assurances that USAID cuts would exclude critical medical funding.

“I feel better than what I was hearing last week, that was gonna be a total cut,” he said, without revealing whether he would support the bill.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) argues the courts should deny California’s request for a restraining order against the Trump administration over its decision to activate National Guard soldiers in Los Angeles after violent riots broke out over the weekend amid Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in the city.

Democratic leaders in California claim President Donald Trump abused his authority by invoking a provision of Title 10 that allows the president to mobilize the National Guard if an invasion or rebellion is underway.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, said in a statement Monday that Trump caused the bulk of the rioting because he unnecessarily deployed the military to protect ICE personnel and federal buildings. Newsom also claimed local and state police had the situation under control when Trump spurred chaos by issuing his National Guard proclamation.

Weighing in on the matter a day ahead of a scheduled hearing, the DOJ made its case that Trump had the authority to call on the National Guard’s response.

NOW AND THEN: HOW TRUMP’S RESPONSE TO LA RIOTS HAS CHANGED FROM 2020 BLACK LIVES MATTER AND ANTIFA

“In a crass political stunt endangering American lives, the Governor of California seeks to use this Court to stop the President of the United States from exercising his lawful statutory and constitutional power to ensure that federal personnel and facilities are protected,” the DOJ said. “But, under the Constitution, the President is the Commander in Chief of the armed forces, and the President is responsible for ensuring the protection of federal personnel and federal facilities.”

Since Friday, violent rioters who object to ICE’s enforcement of immigration laws have targeted and damaged federal buildings, injured federal personnel and impeded federal functions, the DOJ said.

The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and other state and local law enforcement officials have been unable to bring order to Los Angeles, the DOJ claimed.

FEDERAL JUDGE REFUSES TO BLOCK TRUMP’S LA NATIONAL GUARD DEPLOYMENT ON NEWSOM’S TIMEFRAME

The agency also pointed to a comment made by LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell, who said during a news conference that “things have gotten out of control” and warned that “somebody could easily be killed.”

“Evaluating the unrest and threats to the enforcement of federal law that local and state authorities were unable or unwilling to control, the President responded by using the authority vested in him by statute and the Constitution to federalize and deploy the California National Guard to protect federal personnel and property, quell the mobs, and restore order,” the DOJ wrote. “When the situation escalated further, the Secretary of Defense deployed a group of U.S. Marines to further assist.

“The President has every right under the Constitution and by statute to call forth the National Guard and Marines to quell lawless violence directed against enforcement of federal law,” the DOJ continued. “Yet instead of working to bring order to Los Angeles, California and its Governor filed a lawsuit in San Francisco seeking a court order limiting the federal government’s ability to protect its property and officials.”

NEWSOM FILES EMERGENCY MOTION TO ‘IMMEDIATELY BLOCK’ TRUMP’S USE OF MILITARY TO STOP LA RIOTS

The DOJ said California’s request would “countermand” the president’s military directives, which would be “unprecedented.”

“On the merits, Plaintiffs’ claims are baseless,” the DOJ said.

Newsom also claimed Trump never consulted with him before activating the National Guard, though the statute does not have such a requirement, the DOJ said.

“It merely directs, as a procedural matter, that the President’s orders be conveyed “through” the Governor,” the DOJ wrote. “They were.”

Historically, courts did not interfere when former President Dwight Eisenhower deployed the military to protect school desegregation, nor did they interfere when former President Richard Nixon deployed the military to deliver the mail during a postal strike.

Ultimately, the DOJ recommended the court deny California and Newsom’s motion for a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction.

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A spokesperson for Newsom’s office told Fox News Digital, “This is incorrect and the federal administration damn well knows it.”

“President Trump continues to violate the U.S. Constitution and federal law by turning the military into his own personal police force against American citizens. As Governor Newsom said in his address to Californians and the American people yesterday, ‘Trump is pulling a military dragnet across LA, well beyond his stated intent to just go after violent and serious criminals,’” the spokesperson said. 

“President Trump and members of the Trump administration have repeatedly and publicly declared that a takeover of the National Guard would be illegal and that it requires approval by the Governor.”

Fox News’ Ashley Oliver contributed to this report.

EXCLUSIVE: GOP Rep. Darrell Issa is blasting elected Democrat officials in his home state of California over their response to the anti-ICE riots in Los Angeles after he called for a congressional investigation into the response time of local law enforcement. 

“These are the same people that tell us, you know, Biden was fine, he was on the top of his game,” Issa said about Democrat narratives responding to the riots that have been unfolding in Los Angeles since Friday. 

“So their credibility goes with what you see versus what they say. I can’t think of a better example of why you shouldn’t believe or vote for people in that party as long as they’re willing to literally lie to your face on what you’re seeing with your own eyes.”

Democrats across the country, from California to Washington, D.C., have downplayed the rioting and focused on the claim that the majority of the anti-ICE displays have been “peaceful.”

TOM COTTON PUSHES NEW CRACKDOWN ON PRO-IMMIGRATION RIOTERS IN LOS ANGELES, CITING ICE ASSAULTS

Additionally, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and other Democrats have blamed President Donald Trump’s mobilizing the National Guard for making the situation worse.

Issa, who represents California’s 48th Congressional District, took issue with that narrative. 

“First of all, there was damage, both vandalism and actual destruction done before Trump got involved, and that’s the reason he got involved, but there’s another thing that some people miss,” Issa told Fox News Digital. 

“When ICE agents called for police support when they were being assaulted, they hunkered down and waited two hours before police responded because police couldn’t get authority to react. So that alone gave a reason for the president to bring in additional federalized troops to protect the ICE agents.”

On Tuesday, Fox News Digital exclusively reported Issa’s call for an investigation into the Department of Homeland Security’s claim that the LAPD took two hours to respond to assist ICE agents being assaulted on Friday night. 

The LAPD, in a Sunday press conference, denied that allegation and said it took 40 minutes to respond due to traffic. 

HARRIS RIPPED FOR ‘APPALLING’ LA ICE RAIDS STATEMENT PLACING BLAME ON TRUMP: ‘THE COUNTRY DODGED A BULLET’

“Understand that we have over 10 million people who were let into this country, and tens of thousands of them are serious criminal aliens,” Issa said. “There were warrants. There were orders to deport. There are reasons that we’ve got to go after many of these people in cities around the country. If ICE agents can’t be protected or won’t be protected by people like the mayor and my governor, then the president’s going to have to continue to do this, eventually create escorts for ICE agents.”

Issa told Fox News Digital that Trump is doing a “great job” in his response to the unrest in Los Angeles.

“One thing that I’m very happy about is, I know that by taking strong action here, he’s keeping it from occurring in other cities around the country, because what you don’t want is what ultimately happened in 2020 where we saw it happening not just in one city but in city after city where more than two dozen people died and billions of dollars of damage occurred because it wasn’t handled quickly enough, and we’ve learned from that.”

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Issa told Fox News Digital that he finds it curious why Democrats have used the word “insurrection” to describe the Jan. 6th riots that lasted hours but have not used the term to describe what has unfolded in Los Angeles over several days.

“We heard the word ‘insurrection’ for a couple of years nonstop, and now in Los Angeles, when people are directly assaulting property and law enforcement, that’s the very definition of insurrection; and particularly when they’re doing it on behalf of people who are sitting in jails because they were arrested for crimes, not just for entering the country illegally but for actual felonies,” Issa said. 

“And it’s sort of amazing to believe that high-ranking elected officials like Gov. Newsom would actually try to defend any of that action. And yet they’re doing it.”

Issa went on to say that Newsom’s response to the riots “might have worked in the era of print or maybe even the era of radio” but that video evidence of rioting from the scene makes his position untenable. 

“Television and podcasts and everyone having a cellphone, those images are going to be what the American people [is going to] see when he tries to pretend that he was a good governor,” Issa said. “They’re going to see a failure to do his job and an absolute resistance against those who came in to do it for him.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the offices of Newsom and Bass for comment. 

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“Trump is pulling a military dragnet all across Los Angeles, well beyond his stated intent to just go after violent and serious criminals,” Newsom said on Tuesday night. “His agents are arresting dishwashers, gardeners, day laborers and seamstresses. That’s just weakness. Weakness masquerading as strength. Donald Trump’s government isn’t protecting our communities. They’re traumatizing our communities. And that seems to be the entire point.”

“When Donald Trump sought blanket authority to commandeer the National Guard, he made that order apply to every state in this nation. This is about all of us. This is about you. California may be first, but it clearly will not end here. Other states are next. Democracy is next. Democracy is under assault before our eyes. This moment we have feared has arrived. He’s taking a wrecking ball, a wrecking ball to our Founding Fathers’ historic project.”

President Donald Trump said Wednesday he was willing to extend the deadline for countries to reach a trade deal with the United States, but he doesn’t think it will be necessary.

At the same time, he also indicated that in one to two weeks his administration would be sending out letters telling countries “what the deal is.” 

Trump made the remarks ahead of a performance of “Les Misérables” that he attended at the Kennedy Center in Washington with the first lady.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION PREVAILS AS APPEALS COURT PAUSES LOWER COURT DECISION BLOCKING CONTESTED TARIFFS

“I would,” Trump said when asked if he would be willing to extend the July 8 deadline for countries to negotiate a trade deal or else face steep tariffs. “But I don’t think we’re going to have that necessity,” the president added, telling reporters “we’re rocking in terms of deals” right now.

Shortly after announcing sweeping tariff policies on April 2 for virtually every U.S. trading partner, the Trump administration chose to institute a 90-day pause to give countries a chance to make a deal with the United States. 

Trump noted during the gaggle with reporters ahead of Wednesday’s Kennedy Center performance that the United States remains in talks with about 15 countries with whom it is still trying to cement a deal. But the president said that he intends to send letters to these partners setting unilateral tariff rates if a deal is not reached.   

“We’re dealing with Japan. We’re dealing with South Korea. We’re dealing with a lot of them. We’re dealing with about 15 countries. But as you know, we have about 150-plus, and you can’t [make a deal with all of them]. So we’re going to be sending letters out in about a week and a half, two weeks, to countries and telling them what the deal is.”

TRUMP’S TARIFF STRATEGY COULD PAY FOR HIS TAX BILL, BUT ONLY IF THEY STICK, EXPERTS WARN

“At a certain point, we’re just going to send letters out … saying this is the deal, you can take it or leave it,” Trump added.

Highly anticipated trade talks with China held in London this week led to a preliminary agreement between the world’s two biggest economic powers, but the “framework” is still pending final approval from Chinese President Xi Jinping and Trump.

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“We made a great deal with China. We’re very happy with it,” Trump told reporters at the Kennedy Center on Wednesday evening. “We have everything we need, and we’re going to do very well with it. And hopefully they are, too.”

A House Ways and Means Committee hearing took an unexpected turn Wednesday when Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA) accused Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent of interrupting her because of her gender—prompting audible groans from the room.

The exchange occurred during a tense five-minute questioning session, where Sanchez challenged Bessent on the impact of tariffs enacted under President Trump’s administration.

“Prices are rising on many everyday goods,” Sanchez said, citing increases in clothing, shoes, canned food, toys, and household tools. She added, “On average, Trump’s tariffs are estimated to cost households $3,000 more for the same goods than they would have last year,” though she did not cite the source of the figure when pressed.

TRUMP SAYS ‘TOTAL RESET NEGOTIATED’ WITH CHINA DURING TARIFF TALKS IN GENEVA

When Bessent attempted to interject, Sanchez quickly cut him off: “Please don’t interrupt me… I know I’m a woman, but please try to limit yourself to answering my questions.”

That remark prompted groans from the hearing room, with one attendee audibly reacting, “Oh, come on.” Sanchez responded: “No, I’m sorry, but we get talked over all the time, and I don’t want that to happen at this hearing.”

Bessent, who is openly gay, did not address the accusation and instead focused on defending the administration’s trade policies. 

When Sanchez challenged him on pricing impacts and China’s trade behavior, Bessent responded, “That’s incorrect,” and said, “They met their agreements under President Trump in 2020, and President Biden did not enforce them.”

WH SLAMS DEMS’ ‘PARTISAN GAMES’ AFTER TRUMP-FOE SCHIFF CALLS FOR INSIDER TRADING INVESTIGATION OVER TARIFFS

Sanchez repeatedly claimed that American consumers are paying more due to tariffs and described recent negotiations with China as rushed and lacking transparency. “A poorly negotiated trade deal with China is probably not worth the paper that it is written on,” she said. “I was alarmed to hear this morning that Trump said the U.S.–China deal was done after just two days of talks in London.”

Bessent defended the agreement as an initial step. “The deal struck was for a specific goal, and it will be a much longer process,” he said, adding, “China has proven an unreliable partner.”

The clash between Sanchez and Bessent was repeatedly moderated by Chairman Adrian Smith (R-NE), who reminded members of time limits and decorum throughout the hearing.

The moment quickly spread across social media, where the White House’s official rapid response account weighed in, calling the move “shameful.” 

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The office of Congresswoman Linda Sanchez has not responded to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said Wednesday that he had no recollection of his fellow Democratic Party colleagues referring to the anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles as “peaceful.”

“What do Democrats mean when they say the riots in L.A. are peaceful?” Durbin was asked by a reporter outside the Capitol. 

“I never heard them say that,” Durbin responded, leading the reporter to ask Durbin whether he condemned the ongoing anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles, which some have said amount to riots.

“I condemn violence, whether it’s in the Capitol or in L.A.,” Durbin shot back before being ushered away out of earshot. 

CALIFORNIA OFFICIALS ARE TRYING TO DENY LA RIOT ‘CHAOS’ FOR ‘POLITICAL GAIN,’ SHERIFF SAYS

The No. 2 Democrat in the Senate may not have heard any of his fellow party members use the word “peaceful” in their descriptions of the ongoing chaos in Los Angeles, but that doesn’t mean they have not.

“A lot of these peaceful protests are being generated because the President of the United States is sowing chaos,” Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., said on Sunday’s “Meet the Press” on NBC. 

Just the day before, President Donald Trump called on thousands of National Guard troops to go to Los Angeles to help quell the ongoing chaos, which has included attacks on law enforcement, property damage and looting.

“The vast majority of protesters and demonstrators are peaceful,” Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., said on MSNBC. “They’re passionate.”

SEN. CORY BOOKER CALLS LOS ANGELES RIOTS ‘PEACEFUL,’ SLAMS TRUMP FOR DEPLOYING NATIONAL GUARD

Rep. Nanette Barragán, a Democrat who represents California’s 44th Congressional District, said on CNN’s “State of the Union” program on Sunday that “We are having an administration that’s targeting peaceful protests.”

Conservative critics also fired back after former Vice President Kamala Harris referred to the ongoing chaos as “overwhelmingly peaceful.”

“The country really dodged a bullet in November,” Fox News contributor Guy Benson posted on X in response to Harris’ social media post. In another post, Benson added, “Their official position is that they’re appalled by what’s happening in Los Angeles…because of Trump and ICE, not the violent rioters. In its current form, this party cannot be salvaged.”

DOZENS OF ANTI-ICE RIOTERS ARRESTED IN LA AS TRUMP SENDS IN NATIONAL GUARD TO QUELL VIOLENCE

Meanwhile, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton got heat for describing the situation in Los Angeles as “peaceful.”

“California Governor Newsom didn’t request the National Guard be deployed to his state following peaceful demonstrations. Trump sent them anyway. It’s the first time in 60 years a president has made that choice,” Clinton posted on X. “Trump’s goal isn’t to keep Californians safe. His goal is to cause chaos, because chaos is good for Trump.”

While there were initially examples of some peaceful protests at the start of this nearly weeklong chaos, by the start of the weekend, property destruction and violence broke out and devolved into a situation that became increasingly violent over the next few days. Several officers were injured during the riot, which included rocks and other projectiles thrown at them, and dozens of people were arrested related to the protests and rioting.

Looting has also been an issue, as has property damage, and on Tuesday evening Democrat Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass instituted a citywide curfew.

In a rare intraparty dissent, Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., criticized his own party this week for failing to adequately condemn the violence in Los Angeles.

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“This is anarchy and true chaos,” the Pennsylvania Democrat said in a Monday post on X alongside a picture of cars that had been destroyed by fire. “My party loses the moral high ground when we refuse to condemn setting cars on fire, destroying buildings and assaulting law enforcement.”

“I unapologetically stand for free speech, peaceful demonstrations and immigration,” Fetterman added. “But this is not that.”

As anti-ICE riots rage across Los Angeles, congressional Democrats marked the 13th anniversary of DACA with a press conference during which Rep. Delia Ramirez, D-Ill., accused President Donald Trump of unleashing a “campaign of terror” on illegal immigrants.

DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, is a U.S. immigration policy that defers deportation for eligible immigrants who arrived in the country as children. 

Speaking just outside the Capitol building Wednesday, Ramirez accused Trump, border czar Tom Homan, Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller and the entire administration of targeting anyone they consider “undesirable.” She also pushed a conspiracy theory that the president will target U.S. citizens the same way he has deported criminal migrants.

“Trump, Homan, Miller and this whole regime has waged a campaign of terror against our neighbors, against our families, our loved ones, as they advance their fascist agenda and try to cast immigrants as a public enemy,” Ramirez said.

SENATOR LAUNCHES INVESTIGATION INTO DEMOCRATIC ORG OVER POTENTIAL SUPPORT FOR LA RIOTERS

“Let us say it, and I’m going to say it unapologetically,” she added. “We don’t need bans, We don’t need walls. We don’t need raids. We don’t need kidnappings. We don’t need masked agents terrorizing our communities. We don’t need military attacking our neighbors. We have to demand an end to the terror tactics.”

NEWSOM SAYS LOS ANGELES RIOTERS WILL BE PROSECUTED, SLAMS TRUMP FOR ‘TRAUMATIZING OUR COMMUNITIES’

Los Angeles has been rocked by fiery riots and clashes with police and federal authorities since Friday. The rioting began Friday in response to immigration enforcement operations by ICE throughout the city.

In response, Trump deployed federalized National Guard troops and several hundred Marines to assist in restoring order.

This move has been heavily criticized by Democrats, who have accused Trump of intentionally provoking rioters.

“The unlawful actions used against immigrants today will be used tomorrow on anyone who this regime deems undesirable because fascism always demands a public enemy,” Ramirez claimed. “It is why we must stand with DACA recipients, and we must also stand with their parents. 

“We must also stand with their uncles and their sisters and their tias and our small businesses and our teachers and our LGBTQ and every single person this regime is attacking.”  

Despite Ramirez’s characterization of the Trump administration targeting innocent “tias,” federal immigration authorities have detailed criminal charges against the illegals arrested by ICE.

SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS CALLS GAVIN NEWSOM ‘INSANE’ FOR REJECTING FEDERAL ASSISTANCE DURING LOS ANGELES UNREST

This week, ICE published information on charges against illegals arrested in Los Angeles during the ongoing riots. On Wednesday, ICE said it had arrested Jesus Romero-Retana, a Mexican national who the agency said had been convicted of battery and threatening with intent to terrorize.

ICE also said it arrested a Cambodian illegal named Mab Khleb in Los Angeles Tuesday. The agency said he had been sentenced for lewd acts with a child, battery and multiple drug offenses. ICE said it arrested the criminal illegal “despite the best efforts of anti-ICE protestors in the city.”

A source familiar with the operations shared with Fox News Digital a listing of some of the arrests made by ICE in the last week. 

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These arrests included a Salvadoran national arrested in Los Angeles for sodomy of a child, a Mexican national arrested in Chicago for criminal sexual assault of a child, a Mexican national arrested in Houston for indecent sexual contact with a child, a Honduran national arrested in El Paso for possession of child pornography and a Laotian national arrested for murder and attempted murder.

Most Democrats disapprove of how their party’s lawmakers in Congress are handling their jobs, according to a new national poll.

Fifty-three percent of Democrats questioned in a Quinnipiac University survey released Wednesday gave their party’s congressional members a thumbs-down, while 41% approved of their performance.

According to the poll, conducted June 5-8, just 21% of all voters approved of the way Democrats in Congress were handing their jobs, with seven in ten disapproving.

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The 21% approval is the same as in Quinnipiac’s February national poll, matching “an all-time low since Quinnipiac University first asked this question of registered voters in March 2009.”

The survey indicates 79% of GOP voters approve of the way congressional Republicans are handling their job, with 13% disapproving.

WHERE TRUMP STANDS IN FOX NEWS POLLING 100 DAYS INTO HIS SECOND TERM

Among all voters, 32% approved of how GOP congressional members were performing their duties, while just over six in ten disapproved.

Overall approval for Republicans in Congress has dropped eight points since Quinnipiac’s February poll, with disapproval jumping nine points.

The Democratic Party has been in the political wilderness since November’s elections, when Republicans won back control of the White House and the Senate and defended their fragile House majority. And Republicans made gains among Black, Hispanic and younger voters, all traditional members of the Democratic Party’s base.

Since President Donald Trump’s return to power earlier this year, an increasingly energized base of Democrats is urging party leaders to take a stronger stand in pushing back against the president’s sweeping and controversial agenda during the opening months of his second administration. And their anger is directed not only at Republicans, but at Democrats they feel aren’t vocal enough in their opposition to Trump.

And that’s fueled a plunge in the Democratic Party’s favorable ratings, which have hit historic lows in several surveys the past couple of months.

The new poll from Quinnipiac also indicates a decline in Trump’s approval ratings among voters nationwide.

Thirty-eight percent of those questioned in the survey said they approve of the way the president is handling his duties, down three points from Quinnipiac’s early April poll.

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Fifty-four percent in the new poll gave Trump a thumbs-down for his handling of his job as president, down one point from the April survey.

Trump’s approval ratings were mostly above water as he returned to the White House in late January, but his numbers soon slid underwater in many national surveys and remain in negative territory nearly five months into his second administration.