NationalWatch

A federal judge granted a request Wednesday from more than a dozen major news outlets and publishers to unseal certain records in the case of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, the Salvadorian migrant and alleged MS-13 member who was deported from Maryland to El Salvador in March in what administration officials have acknowledged was an administrative error.

Separately on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis granted a request from Abrego Garcia’s legal team to file a motion for sanctions against the Trump administration. That filing is due June 11, she said in an order. 

The one-two punch from Xinis could give plaintiffs new ammo to pursue more formal punishments against the Trump administration if officials are found to have been acting in bad faith or knowingly defying court orders. 

It will also give new access to media outlets covering the case. Xinis agreed to grant in part a request from a group of 14 major media outlets and publishers – including Fox News, NBC News, CBS News, New York Times, the Washington Post and NPR – who filed a motion to unseal records in the Abrego Garcia case, citing concerns over the lack of public access, as well as over government efforts, or lack thereof, to facilitate his return to the U.S.

JUDGE PRESSES TRUMP DOJ ON ABREGO GARCIA DEPORTATION; ANSWERS LEAVE COURTROOM IN STUNNED SILENCE

In her order, Xinis agreed with the contention of the news outlets – referred to jointly as the “Press Movants” – that the public “enjoys a presumptive right to access court records, overcome only when outweighed by competing interests.”

As such, Xinis ordered the Trump administration to unseal a handful of documents that have so far been filed under seal, as part of a protracted legal battle over the status of Abrego Garcia.

Xinis also ordered them to unseal a transcript from an April 30 hearing in his case. 

“The right to public access of court records remains critical to promoting ‘trustworthiness of the judicial process, to curb judicial abuses, and to provide the public with a more complete understanding of the judicial system, including a better perception of fairness,’” she said Wednesday.

The order comes amid a months-long court fight over the status of Abrego Garcia, who remains in El Salvador. 

Xinis in April ordered the Trump administration to comply with an expedited discovery schedule to determine whether they were complying with the directive to return Abrego Garcia to the U.S., which was upheld by the Supreme Court earlier this year.

Since then, she has struggled to ascertain the status of Abrego Garcia, or efforts made to return him to the U.S.

TRUMP’S REMARKS COULD COME BACK TO BITE HIM IN ABREGO GARCIA DEPORTATION BATTLE

Trump officials, for their part, have repeatedly alleged that Abrego Garcia is a member of the MS-13 gang, though any formal ties remain unproven. 

Lawyers for the government and Abrego Garcia’s attorneys have sparred with Xinis in court over what exactly it means to “facilitate” his return – a months-long fight that Xinis most recently described as beating a “frustrated and dead horse.”

Xinis previously took aim at what she deemed to be the lack of information submitted to the court as part of an expedited discovery process she ordered last month, describing the government submissions as “vague, evasive and incomplete” responses, and which she said demonstrated “willful and bad faith refusal to comply with discovery obligations.”

The order is the latest development in the ongoing feud between Trump officials and the courts over the use of the Alien Enemies Act, a 1798 wartime immigration law used earlier this year to quickly deport migrants from the U.S. 

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To date, the Trump administration has not knowingly complied with any court orders to return migrants who were removed and sent to El Salvador in the early wave of deportation flights, despite earlier court orders from Xinis, Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and others.

It is unclear whether Xinis plans to begin contempt proceedings against the administration, though the federal judge in D.C. said earlier this year that he had found probable cause to do so.

Vice President JD Vance accused Harvard University of having a lack of “ideological diversity,” comparing the academic institution to North Korea amid the Trump administration’s continuing battle against the school. 

Vance said Tuesday that he estimated, without evidence, that “probably” 95% of Harvard’s faculty voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election, and said that universities have become these “almost quasi-theocratic, or quasi-totalitarian societies.”

“Right. Very brilliant. Kamala Harris, of course,” Vance said at the American Compass anniversary gala in Washington. “But if you ask yourself a foreign election, a foreign country’s election, you say 80% of the people voted for one candidate, you would say, ‘Oh, that’s kind of weird, right? That’s like, not a super healthy democracy.’ If you said, ‘Oh, 95% of people voted for one party’s candidate,’ you would say, ‘That’s North Korea, right… That is impossible in a true place of free exchange for that to happen.'” 

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

TRUMP ADMIN ASKING FEDERAL AGENCIES TO CANCEL REMAINING HARVARD CONTRACTS

The Trump administration has been at odds with Harvard as it’s pushed for the academic institution to install changes to its governance and admissions process in response to incidents of bias on campus targeting Jewish students since October 2023. 

But Harvard University President Alan M. Garber said in April that the Trump administration included additional requests for reform that go beyond addressing antisemitism on campus, and the institution would not comply because the demands were unconstitutional.

WHITE HOUSE SLAMS IVY LEAGUE INSTITUTIONS FOR ‘EGREGIOUS ILLEGAL BEHAVIOR’ AMID TRUMP FEUD WITH HARVARD

Specifically, Garber said the new requests “direct governmental regulation of the ‘intellectual conditions’ at Harvard,” including auditing viewpoints of students, faculty and staff members on campus, and eliminating all diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, offices and initiatives at Harvard. 

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“It makes clear that the intention is not to work with us to address antisemitism in a cooperative and constructive manner,” Garber wrote in an April letter. “We have informed the administration through our legal counsel that we will not accept their proposed agreement.”

Since then, the Trump administration has warned it will pull all federal funding from the school, amounting to a total of $100 million in contracts. That’s on top of the $3.2 billion in grants and contracts the administration has previously frozen. 

TRUMP ADMIN SLASHES OVER $2.2B IN FUNDING TO HARVARD AFTER SCHOOL DEFIES DEMANDS

The Department of Justice (DOJ) sent an unprecedented letter to a Brazilian Supreme Court justice in May, admonishing the judge for ordering American-based video platform Rumble to restrict the free speech of a user on U.S. soil, describing the orders as international overreach that lack enforceability. 

Rumble, a popular U.S.-based video-sharing platform that bucks censorship efforts frequently found on other video and social media platforms, is at the center of an international battle to protect free speech that has been ongoing for months.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered the suspension of Rumble in the South American country back in February over claims the U.S. company did not comply with court orders, including removing the accounts of a Brazilian man living in the U.S. and seeking political asylum.

“If you look at what’s happening around the world, it’s clear we’re living through a perilous moment for anyone who believes in freedom of expression — a fundamental human right enshrined in the U.S. Constitution and recognized globally, even by the United Nations,” Rumble CEO Chris Pavlovski exclusively told Fox News Digital Tuesday following the DOJ’s May letter. 

RUMBLE, TRUMP MEDIA DECLARE ‘COMPLETE VICTORY FOR FREE SPEECH’ IN WIN AGAINST BRAZILIAN JUDGE

“The fact that Rumble has become a central player in this global fight for free speech is a powerful validation of our mission. We’re proud to stand at the front lines of this effort and grateful that President Trump and his administration have made this battle a foreign policy priority.” 

Moraes is now in the U.S. government’s crosshairs after the DOJ sent a letter to him in May outlining his reported international overreach into U.S. law affecting the First Amendment, as well as Secretary of State Marco Rubio revealing in a congressional hearing that the Brazilian judge could face U.S. sanctions. 

Moraes had ordered Rumble to remove a user from its platform as he stands accused of spreading false information online and is considered a fugitive in Brazil. Rumble refused and was threatened with financial penalties for the lack of cooperation. 

TRUMP-BACKED MEDIA COMPANY SUES BRAZILIAN SUPREME COURT JUSTICE, CLAIMS HE’S ILLEGALLY CENSORING FREE SPEECH

The DOJ letter, dated May 7 and made public Thursday, argued that Moraes’ orders are not enforceable in the U.S. 

“These purported directives to Rumble are made under threat of monetary and other penalties,” the letter, signed by DOJ official Ada E. Bosque, reads. “We take no position on the enforceability of the various orders and other judicial documents directing Rumble to act within the territory of Brazil, which is a matter of Brazilian law. However, to the extent that these documents direct Rumble to undertake specific actions in the United States, we respectfully advise that such directives are not enforceable judicial orders in the United States.” 

The DOJ did not have additional comment to provide when approached about the letter Tuesday. 

Pavlovski described to Fox Digital that the letter is “unprecedented” and draws a clear line to foreign nations that they cannot attempt to thwart U.S. laws and the First Amendment. 

“The letter from the U.S. Department of Justice to a foreign judge over censorship orders is unprecedented,” Pavlovski said. “It draws a bright red line: foreign officials cannot issue censorship orders that violate the First Amendment or bypass U.S. law. That kind of extraterritorial overreach is incompatible with American sovereignty. And that’s good news, not just for Americans, but for free societies everywhere.” 

RUMBLE REVEALS CENSORSHIP DEMANDS FROM SURPRISING LIST OF COUNTRIES AS CEO TO TESTIFY ON FREE SPEECH THREATS

The letter continued that there are established channels for international legal proceedings, which the DOJ said the judge bypassed, and directed the Brazilian judge to various proper procedures he could take regarding the court orders. 

Rumble facing restrictions in foreign nations is hardly new, with the platform currently disabled in China, Russia and France, as well as Brazil. It has also previously received censorship demands in nations such as the U.K., Australia and New Zealand, but has maintained its free speech objective. 

The DOJ’s letter comes as Rubio revealed in a House Committee on Foreign Affairs hearing in May that the State Department is considering sanctions against Moraes under the Magnitsky Act. The Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act authorizes the U.S. government to sanction individuals overseas if determined responsible for human rights abuses or corruption.

“We’ve seen pervasive censorship, political persecution targeting the entire opposition, including journalists and ordinary citizens,” Republican Florida Rep. Cory Mills asked Rubio at the hearing in May. “What they’re now doing is imminent, politically motivated imprisonment of former President Bolsonaro. This crackdown has extended beyond Brazil’s borders, impacting individuals on U.S. soil., the 2023 Financial Times article actually talked about this. What do you intend to do? And would you be looking at Supreme Court justice sanctioning of Alexandre de Moraes under the Global Magnitsky Act?”

BRAZILIAN EX-PRESIDENT BOLSONARO ORDERED TO STAND TRIAL OVER ALLEGED COUP PLAN

Rubio responded, “That’s under review right now, and it’s a great, great possibility that will happen.”

Days later, Rubio posted to X that the State Department will roll out visa restrictions on foreigners found “complicit” in censoring Americans. 

“For too long, Americans have been fined, harassed, and even charged by foreign authorities for exercising their free speech rights,” Rubio wrote on X. “Today, I am announcing a new visa restriction policy that will apply to foreign officials and persons who are complicit in censoring Americans. Free speech is essential to the American way of life — a birthright over which foreign governments have no authority.” 

“Foreigners who work to undermine the rights of Americans should not enjoy the privilege of traveling to our country,” Rubio added, not naming specific individuals responsible for such actions. “Whether in Latin America, Europe, or elsewhere, the days of passive treatment for those who work to undermine the rights of Americans are over.”

Moraes is also overseeing the upcoming trial of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who is accused of allegedly attempting to overturn his 2022 election results. 

Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva slammed the U.S. for threatening sanctions against Moraes in comment this week. 

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“It is unacceptable for the president of any country in the world to comment on the decision of the Supreme Court of another country,” da Silva said Tuesday, according to Reuters. 

The Brazilian president added that the U.S. should understand the importance of “respecting the integrity of institutions in other countries.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Moraes’ office Tuesday but did not immediately receive a reply. 

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., clashed Tuesday with a University of Pennsylvania law professor over the number of nationwide judicial injunctions imposed by district judges against President Donald Trump’s executive actions on matters including deportations, tariffs, and cuts to federal funding and the federal workforce. 

During the Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing titled “The Supposedly ‘Least Dangerous Branch’: District Judges v. Trump,” Hawley displayed a bar chart to argue that nationwide injunctions against the executive branch, which had not been used until the 1960s, surged when Trump came into office for his first term and then dramatically dropped again during former President Joe Biden’s time at the White House. 

“Now, you don’t think this is a little bit anomalous?” Hawley asked University of Pennsylvania law professor Kate Shaw. 

TRUMP CRITICIZES RAND PARL OVER TAX BILL OPPOSTION: ‘VOTES NO ON EVERYTHING’

Shaw, a Supreme Court contributor for ABC News who previously worked for former President Barack Obama’s White House Counsel’s Office, responded, “A very plausible explanation, senator, you have to consider is that [Trump] is engaged in much more lawless activity than other presidents. Right?” 

“This was never used before the 1960s,” Hawley said. “And suddenly Democrat judges decide we love the nationwide injunction. And then when Biden comes office, no, no.” 

Shaw cited Mila Sohoni, a Stanford Law School professor, as suggesting that the first nationwide injunction came in 1913 and others were issued in the 1920s. 

“The federal government was doing a lot less until 100 years ago,” she said. “There’s many things that have changed in the last hundred or the last 50 years.” 

“So as long as it is a Democrat president in office, then we should have no nationwide injunctions?” Hawley shot back. “If it’s a Republican president, then this is absolutely fine, warranted and called for? How can our system of law survive on those principles?” 

Shaw said she believes a system where there “are no legal constraints on the president is a very dangerous system of law,” but the Republican from Missouri contended that’s not what the law professor believed when Biden was president. 

“You said it was a travesty for the principles of democracy, notions of judicial impartiality and the rule of law,” Hawley said. “You said the idea that anyone would foreign shop to get a judge who would issue a nationwide injunction was a politician, just judges looking like politicians in robes. Again, it threatened the underlying legal system. People are just trying to get the result they wanted. It was a travesty for the rule of law. But you’re fine with all of that if it’s getting the result that you want.” 

JUDGE TO BLOCK TRUMP ADMIN’S HARVARD FOREIGN STUDENTS BAN

Hawley cited Shaw’s stance in a specific abortion pill ruling during Biden’s presidency. In April 2023, U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk of the Northern District of Texas issued a nationwide injunction on the Biden Food and Drug Administration’s mifepristone rules, which Shaw described at the time as “a travesty for the principles of democracy, notions of judicial impartiality and the rule of law.” 

Hawley said she had failed to offer a legitimate principle for issuing nationwide injunctions now. 

“I understand you hate the president,” the senator told Shaw. “I understand that you love all of these rulings against him. You and I both know that’s not a principle. You’re a lawyer. What’s the principle that divides when issuing a nationwide injunction is OK and when it is not? When the Biden administration was subject to nationwide injunctions, you said that they were travesties for the principle of democracy.” 

“When it’s Biden, it’s OK. When it’s Biden, oh, it’s a travesty. When it’s Trump in office, it’s a no holds barred, whatever it takes,” the senator added. 

Hawley said Shaw and his Democratic colleagues were raising “very principled injunctions” to nationwide injunctions issued against Biden just nine months ago and “all that’s changed in nine months is the occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.”

“I realize that my colleagues on this side of the aisle very much dislike that individual,” Hawley said, referring to Trump. “And I realize that you think that the rulings that he has lost are fundamentally sound.”

“I disagree with all of that, but we can put that to one side. The question we’re talking about here is, ‘Should judges, single judges, district court judges be able to bind nonparties who are not in front of them?’ And you used to say no. Now you say yes,” he said. “Let’s be consistent. I would just suggest to you our system of government cannot survive if it’s going to be politics all the way down.” 

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Shaw responded that “democracy is not as simple as majority rule,” but Hawley interjected, saying, “You would have it as simple as majority rule. When you get the majority you like, you’re for the nationwide injunction. When you don’t, you’re not.” 

FIRST ON FOX: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on Wednesday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had issued a detainer in Massachusetts for a criminal illegal immigrant charged with raping a child with force in a crime that was captured on video.

Lorenzo Lopez Alcario, a 30-year-old Guatemalan national accused of tying up and brutally sexually assaulting a young girl in a video that was ultimately found by the girl’s mother, had the ICE detainer placed on him this week, according to a press release from DHS. 

The press release states that Alcario first entered the United States illegally on an unknown date before being arrested in 2017 in Arlington, Virginia, for drug possession. 

Later that year, in September, Alcario was ordered by a judge to be removed by the United States and was deported by aircraft on Sept. 28, 2017. 

AOC FUNDRAISES ON TRYING TO ABOLISH ICE AMID TRUMP’S CRACKDOWN ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION

However, according to DHS, Alcario re-entered the United States in June 2022 and was released into the country by the Biden administration despite his criminal history and previous deportation. 

In a statement, Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin made the case that Alcario should never have been allowed back into the United States and that the ICE detainer is aimed at ensuring Alcario does not victimize anyone else in the future. 

TENNESSEE REP SAYS NASHVILLE MAYOR’S ICE POLICIES AMOUNT TO ‘AIDING AND ABETTING ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION’

“Lorenzo Lopez Alcario is a pedophile illegal alien from Guatemala who should’ve never been in the U.S. in the first place,” McLaughlin said. 

“Despite his previous criminal charges and deportation, President Biden released this barbaric criminal into American communities in 2022. Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, ICE lodged a detainer to ensure this criminal illegal alien will not be allowed to terrorize American citizens and will deport this child predator to prevent further victims.” 

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ICE has been active in Massachusetts in recent weeks, including via Operation Patriot, which resulted in the arrest of nearly 1,500 illegals, including murderers, rapists, drug traffickers and child sex predators, in the deep blue sanctuary city-heavy state.

Sources at ICE told Fox News that 790 of those arrested had criminal convictions or charges and 277 had final removal or deportation orders. The sources said that all the targeted criminals were roaming the streets of Massachusetts cities freely before being apprehended.

Fox News Digital’s Peter Pinedo contributed to this report.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is “very tough” and “extremely hard to make a deal with,” President Donald Trump admitted Wednesday.

Trump made the statement on his Truth Social platform, clarifying that he still “likes” the Chinese leader. The statement comes as Trump is expected to hold a phone call with Xi sometime this week to discuss tariff negotiations.

“I like President XI of China, always have, and always will, but he is VERY TOUGH, AND EXTREMELY HARD TO MAKE A DEAL WITH!!!” Trump wrote.

White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett revealed plans for Trump to speak with Xi on Sunday.

‘NO REASON’ FOR NEW NUKES: TRUMP FLOATS DISARMAMENT TALKS WITH CHINA, RUSSIA

“President Trump, we expect, is going to have a wonderful conversation about the trade negotiations this week with President Xi. That’s our expectation,” Hassett said Sunday during an interview on ABC News’ “This Week.”

Trump’s plans for a call come after he leveled tariffs as high as 145% on Chinese goods following the president’s reciprocal tariff plans in April, when China retaliated against the U.S. with tariffs of their own. 

FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS 5 TRUMP TARIFF EXECUTIVE ORDERS

China and the U.S. reached a preliminary trade agreement last month, which Trump said China violated in a Truth Social post on Friday. 

“I made a FAST DEAL with China in order to save them from what I thought was going to be a very bad situation, and I didn’t want to see that happen. Because of this deal, everything quickly stabilized and China got back to business as usual. Everybody was happy! That is the good news!” Trump wrote.

“The bad news is that China, perhaps not surprisingly to some, HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US. So much for being Mr. NICE GUY!” he added.

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Trump’s administration is holding trade talks simultaneously with countries across the globe. They requested many of those countries to submit their best trade deal offers by Wednesday.

Fox News’ Emma Colton contributed to this report

House Republican Leadership Chairwoman Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., is unveiling a new political fundraising machine Wednesday as she continues to generate buzz as a potential 2026 New York gubernatorial candidate.

Stefanik is eyeing a potential bid for the governor’s mansion in Albany. She told a Republican crowd in Staten Island Monday she was “strongly considering” entering the race.

Her new state political action committee, Save New York, appears aimed at further cementing her status as a heavyweight in Empire State GOP politics.

MEET THE TRUMP-PICKED LAWMAKERS GIVING SPEAKER JOHNSON A FULL HOUSE GOP CONFERENCE

“Kathy Hochul is the worst bovernor in America, and she is leading a failed Democrat Party. After years of failed single-party Democrat rule in New York, it has never been more clear that we need strong, commonsense Republican leadership in New York,” Stefanik said in a statement.

She said Save New York “will focus on supporting Republican candidates and campaigns in local elections this November to build the groundwork for 2026.”

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

“I am proud of the strong support my political team has developed over the past decade due to the generous support from New York voters and donors who have built our political apparatus into a fundraising and political juggernaut to deliver policies that benefit hardworking New York families,” Stefanik said.

The New York Republican has been a key ally to President Donald Trump since his first term in the White House.

Trump had appointed her ambassador to the United Nations in his second term, and she was poised to sail through the confirmation process before concerns about the House GOP’s razor-thin majority forced Stefanik to bow out of contention.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., appointed Stefanik chairwoman of House GOP Leadership after she gave up her role as House GOP Conference chair for the Trump administration.

In the House, she’s been a leader on issues like antisemitism on college campuses, playing a key role in Republicans’ investigation of anti-Israel protests on Ivy League campuses.

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Stefanik is one of two House Republicans considering a bid for New York governor.

Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., one of three House GOP lawmakers representing districts former Vice President Kamala Harris won in 2024, has openly toyed with his own gubernatorial effort.

Trump recently endorsed Lawler for re-election in his House district.

Permissive laws in deep blue Colorado created an environment in which last weekend’s antisemitic attack could occur, a local district attorney told Fox News Digital.

In an interview with Fox News Digital, George Brauchler, a Republican district attorney for Colorado’s 23rd district, said that the state government, which is dominated by Democrats, has been intentionally creating a lax, sanctuary-type environment regarding immigration enforcement. 

This, he said, emboldens illegals, such as Mohamed Sabry Soliman, the suspect accused of firebombing pro-Israel activists on Sunday, to act with impunity.

A DHS spokeswoman has said Soliman, an Egyptian national, was living in the country illegally at the time of the attack. He entered the United States in August 2022 with a visa that expired in February 2023, the spokeswoman said, noting he applied for asylum during that time.

HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR AMONG VICTIMS IN BOULDER, COLORADO SUSPECTED TERROR ATTACK

Soliman allegedly injured eight adults, including a victim who was 88 years old, at an outdoor mall in Boulder, according to the FBI.

The suspect was witnessed shouting “Free Palestine” during the attack and using a makeshift flamethrower to target the crowd, the FBI said. Police said the victims were hospitalized with burn wounds.

They had been participating in a Run for Their Lives protest, which, according to the Anti-Defamation League, is a weekly event attended by members of the Jewish community to support hostages held in Gaza by Hamas terrorists.

Discussing the brazen attack, Brauchler said: “When you have taken the ongoing steps that our state government has taken over the past many years to identify yourself to everyone, both citizen and noncitizen alike, that you are a sanctuary state – and it doesn’t matter if they ever say those words, what matters is the policies in place – and when you had put local law enforcement on its heels, when it comes to trying to coordinate with immigration enforcement authorities, you create an environment where someone feels like visa or no visa, I can stay here and do whatever I want, whether it’s to try to find a job off the books or to plan for a terrorist act against Jews up in Boulder.”

BOULDER ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT TERROR SUSPECT’S ’POSSIBLE RADICALIZATION’ PROBED BY AUTHORITIES: RETIRED FBI AGENT

In response to the attack, Brauchler said he expects the Trump administration may assume control of the case and “make an example” of the perpetrator.

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“In the past, you would see some deference by the federal government to local prosecutors who showed an interest in prosecuting high-profile cases,” he said. “But in this day and age, with illegal immigration being an issue, with the anti-Semitic terrorist acts being an issue, I can foresee President Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi saying, ‘We’re taking this case, we’re going to use every tool at our disposal, we’re going to highlight this prosecution, we’re going to make an example of this guy, and we’re going to send a message.’”

Brauchler said that though “we’ve seen antisemitic stuff before out here, never in my recollection at this scale or this brazenly having somebody do this.”

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION PROMISES JUSTICE FOR SLAIN ISRAELI COUPLE IN DC SHOOTING

“My worry is if we don’t make a big, loud, powerful statement sooner rather than later, these things are going to start to repeat themselves, not just here, but everywhere,” he said.

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“This is another horrific blemish on a state that I have known as home my entire life,” he went on, adding that “because of the powers that be and the policies that have been put in place over the last 10 or 15 years, I don’t recognize Colorado anymore.”

“It’s hard to imagine, and it’s just another black eye for our state that we didn’t need,” he said.

Fox News Digital’s Ashley Oliver and Fox News Channel’s Bill Melugin contributed to this report.

The House GOP is quietly mounting a pressure campaign on the Senate to accept its version of President Donald Trump’s “one big, beautiful bill” even as lawmakers in the upper chamber signal they’ll be making changes.

Tensions are simmering between Republicans in the two chambers as they work to pass a massive tax, immigration and energy bill via the budget reconciliation process.

The House Budget Committee held a staff-level communications briefing on Monday, two sources told Fox News Digital, the same day the Senate returned from the Memorial Day week recess to begin consideration of the massive bill.

Senate Republicans have vowed to tweak the House’s offering to varying degrees, with some wanting to tackle even deeper spending cuts and others wanting to soften the blows to Medicaid and green energy subsidies. 

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

While lawmakers in the upper chamber are still working out the kinks of their approach, they agree the bill will be different. 

Both sources interpreted the meeting as a way to get ahead of Senate Republicans’ criticism of certain aspects of the bill.

Documents viewed by Fox News Digital that were handed to House Republican aides show specific talking points about the bill’s taxpayer savings, Medicaid provisions and green energy subsidy rollbacks, among other topics.

The document pushed back on the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimate that the bill would add more than $2 trillion to the deficit over a decade.

“The cost of the bill ($4.12 trillion) is surpassed by the savings ($4.29 trillion) associated with mandatory spending reforms ($1.7 trillion) and economic growth ($2.6 trillion),” the document said.

It suggested House Republicans assume 2.6% economic growth over 10 years rather than the CBO’s unprecedentedly low 1.8%.

MEET THE TRUMP-PICKED LAWMAKERS GIVING SPEAKER JOHNSON A FULL HOUSE GOP CONFERENCE

“House Budget is desperately circling the wagons with staff and members to make sure they do not forget the fight is not over on messaging why their bill is better than their Senate rivals,” one House GOP aide told Fox News Digital. “They got jammed with the Senate version in the blueprint round and are using every tool at their disposal to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

A senior House GOP aide also told Fox News Digital, “The Senate should heed President Trump’s wishes to get [the bill] to his desk before July 4th.”

The House passed its version of the legislation late last month after a marathon all-night session full of debate and Democrat procedural motions to delay.

The mammoth bill is aimed at permanently extending Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act while also including new tax relief for senior citizens and eliminating taxes on tipped and overtime wages.

It would also send new funding to the U.S.-Mexico border and to enhance Immigrations and Customs Enforcement while rolling back a significant portion of the green energy subsidies from the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

To save money and cut down on what Republicans see as waste, fraud and abuse of government safety nets, the bill would introduce Medicaid work requirements for certain able-bodied recipients beginning in December 2026. 

It would penalize states that allowed illegal immigrants into the Affordable Care Act-expanded Medicaid population while rewarding states that did not.

Both the IRA subsidies and Medicaid reforms are emerging as pain points for the Senate GOP’s three-seat majority.

The document obtained by Fox News Digital appears to target specific senators’ concerns. For example, one portion of the Q&A specifically said, “No,” the bill does not put rural hospitals at risk.

“The bill reinvests funds to reopen rural emergency hospitals and ensure cost-effective care access,” the messaging guidance said.

HOUSE GOP TARGETS ANOTHER DEM OFFICIAL ACCUSED OF BLOCKING ICE AMID DELANEY HALL FALLOUT

On the rescinded IRA funds, it said, “The bill targets unused or duplicative funds from programs such as the Neighborhood Access and Equity Grants and sustainable jet fuel. These projects aligned more with ideological goals than infrastructure priorities.”

Another note mentioned the electric vehicle (EV) credit rollback, arguing it would “ensure all vehicles contribute to the Highway Trust Fund.”

“EVs cause more wear and tear due to their higher weight but pay no fuel taxes. The bill imposes modest user fees starting no later than the end of FY 2026 and terminates in FY 2035, indexed to inflation,” it said.

But it’s not clear that senators with those concerns will heed the House’s arguments right now.

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., told reporters Tuesday, “It’s going to hurt rural hospitals in my state.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., acknowledged to reporters on Tuesday that while there was discontent over “individual pieces” of the bill, Republicans must agree on something that will pass the chamber.

“Failure is not an option. We’ve got to get to 51, so we’ll figure out the path forward to do that over the next couple of weeks,” Thune said.

Other senators, meanwhile, have argued they want to make deeper cuts than what the House came up with.

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“The House bill, they’re not even scratching the surface. It’s not even the tip of the iceberg in terms of what we need to do to return to a reasonable, pre-pandemic-level spending,” Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said on Fox Business last week.

When reached for comment, the House Budget Committee referred Fox News Digital to recent comments by Chair Jodey Arrington, R-Texas.

“Some senators will say we went too far on entitlement reform and health care and welfare, and then you’ll have … [f]olks like [Sens.] Rick Scott, Ron Johnson, who are dear friends of mine, all well-intentioned, will say we don’t cut enough spending,” Arrington said on Fox News last week. “Well, the fact is, you can only cut as much as you can get the vote to pass it out of your chamber. And we cut almost $1.7 trillion in spending, which is the largest spending cuts in American history by twofold.”

“There’s always room for improvement, and I welcome that, especially on the fiscal reform side, but we’ve got to get the votes.”

A cohort of Senate Republicans already troubled by the House GOP’s version of President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” found a common ally in Elon Musk, who again trashed the legislation on Tuesday.

Musk, who just exited his tenure as Trump’s efficiency bloodhound leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) last week, doubled down on his position that the House’s reconciliation package was an “abomination.”

WHITE HOUSE STANDS BY TAX BILL AFTER MUSK CALLS IT A ‘DISGUSTING ABOMINATION’

“I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore,” Musk said on X. “This massive, outrageous, pork-filled congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination.”

“Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong,” he continued. “You know it.”

Senate Republicans have already vowed to make changes to the colossal bill, which includes the president’s desires on tax, energy, immigration, defense and national debt policies. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., lauded Musk for his work with DOGE, but noted that the Senate GOP and the tech-billionaire had “a difference of opinion.”

ELON MUSK CRITICISM OF TRUMP TAX BILL FRUSTRATES SOME REPUBLICANS: ‘NO PLACE IN CONGRESS’

He didn’t believe that Musk’s comments would derail the bill entirely in the upper chamber, either. Thune has pledged to get the bill to the president’s desk by Independence Day. 

“The legislation, as passed by the House, can be approved here in the Senate, can be strengthened in the Senate, in a number of ways,” Thune said. “We intend to do that, but when it’s all said and done, we’ll send it back to the House and hope that they can pass it and put it on the president’s desk.”

Still, fractures have emerged among lawmakers, with some viewing the bill through the same lens as Musk.

“Well, he has some of the same skepticism I have, you know, towards the big, beautiful bill,” said Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky.

TRUMP CRITICIZES RAND PAUL OVER TAX BILL OPPOSITION: ‘VOTES NO ON EVERYTHING’

Paul has vowed not to support the bill as is without a serious overhaul to the legislation that would nix a $5 trillion increase to the nation’s debt ceiling — a stance that has gotten him into hot water with Trump.

Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., has similarly pledged not to support the bill unless much steeper spending cuts are achieved. The House’s product includes $1.5 trillion in spending cuts over the next decade, but Johnson would like to see a return to pre-pandemic spending levels, which would effectively amount to a roughly $6 trillion cut in spending.

“I share his concerns,” Johnson said of Musk. “I also appreciate what he and President Trump did with his DOGE effort.”

And Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, a fiscal hawk whose views are closely aligned with Johnson’s, argued in response to the tech billionaire’s social media post that “federal spending has become excessive.”

“The resulting inflation harms Americans and weaponizes government,” Lee said on X. “The Senate can make this bill better. It must now do so.”

Other Senate Republicans, including those with outstanding concerns with the current legislation, were much less receptive to Musk’s tirade against the bill.

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Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., has remained steadfast in his position that he would not support the current Medicaid proposals in the House’s bill, especially if they cut benefits to his constituents and people across the country.

When asked his reaction to Musk’s rant, he shrugged, “Well, he’s entitled to his opinion, it’s a free country.”

Sen. Jim Justice, R-W.V., who has expressed reservations on the contents of the megabill, was more blunt.

“My reaction to that is just simply this — and y’all may like this or not like this — but you know, Donald Trump is our president, not Elon Musk,” he said. 

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

• Comer hails DOJ’s Biden probe as House investigation heats up
• DNC trolls Trump on tariffs with free ‘TACO’ truck parked outside RNC headquarters
• Trump criticizes Rand Paul over tax bill opposition: ‘Votes no on everything’

Baraka v. Habba

Newark Mayor and Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Ras Baraka filed a lawsuit Tuesday against interim U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba, accusing her of false arrest and malicious prosecution in connection with his May 9 arrest and charges outside a federal immigration center.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in New Jersey, accuses Habba of acting politically in Baraka’s May 9 arrest outside the Delaney Hall detention center, near Newark Liberty International Airport. Baraka was arrested during a protest outside the facility, after being accused of trespassing and ignoring warnings from law enforcement officials to leave. He was held in custody for several hours before being released. The U.S. attorney’s office said 13 days after it brought charges against Baraka that it was dismissing the case “for the sake of moving forward.” 

The civil lawsuit filed by Baraka’s attorneys seeks damages for what they described as his “false arrest and malicious prosecution,” as well as the allegedly defamatory remarks Habba made about his case, including on social media. The lawsuit includes screenshots of Habba’s social media posts in question…READ MORE

White House

SIGNATURE ISSUE: Trump DOJ investigating Biden pardons to family, death row inmates

Terror in Boulder 

‘REALLY SAD’: Boulder terror attack witness describes ‘horrific’ scene at pro-Israel rally

LOOKING BACK: Lawmakers, officials warned about terrorist attacks from foreign nationals long before Colorado

TERROR UNLEASHED: Mohamed Soliman planned Molotov cocktail attack after gun purchase denial

GROWING THREAT: Boulder terror attack suspect showed signs of growing ‘lone-wolf’ radicalization, says former FBI supervisor

SERVE AND PROTECT: Boulder antisemitic terror attack spurs response from major cities 

World Stage

WARTIME READY: Challenges posed by Trump and Putin push UK to adopt new NATO first defense policy

HOMELAND ON EDGE: After Ukraine’s surprise drone assault on Russia, new attention drawn to sensitive sites stateside

CRIMEA CHAOS: Ukraine targets bridge linking Russia to Crimea with massive underwater blast, video shows

DIVINE PRESENCE: Huckabee condemns efforts to erase Jewish history to the Holy Land as ‘absurd’

‘BETRAYAL’: US citizen who fought for ISIS in Syria sentenced to 10 years in prison

ATOMIC IMPASSE: Ukraine targets bridge linking Russia to Crimea with massive underwater blast, video shows

A NATION ON EDGE: After Ukraine’s surprise drone assault on Russia, new attention drawn to sensitive sites stateside

Capitol Hill

‘AGGRESSIVE AFFRONT’: House Dems urge GOP to condemn DHS for handcuffing Rep Nadler staffer, order Noem to testify

‘PART OF THE DESIGN’: Jasmine Crockett agrees during town hall that ‘Republicans want poor people to die’

FISCAL SHOWDOWN: Rand Paul says $5 trillion debt increase in ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ a deal-breaker

Across America 

‘HELPING OUT DHS’: Patel’s immigration push at FBI yields 10,000 arrests since January

PAPER TRAIL: Liberal city mayor hit with ethics complaint over alleged lavish gifts

TAXPAYER WASTE: HHS ends Biden-era COVID-19 testing program that bled taxpayers years after pandemic

HOPE UNDER FIRE: DeSantis punches back at Hope Florida controversy, likens ‘lawfare’ to attacks on Trump and nominees

PROTECTING CHILDREN: FBI urges public to provide tips on mutilation of children with ‘gender-affirming’ surgeries

CAMPUS DECEPTION: Red state dean ousted after admitting on hidden cam she was secretly pushing DEI

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

The FBI hid the extent of what some lawmakers have called an anti-Catholic operation targeting churchgoers during the Biden administration, despite then-agency Director Christopher Wray telling Congress that the matter was limited to a single 2023 memo, according to documents released Tuesday. 

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who serves as the Senate Judiciary Committee chair, released documents that he said show the FBI engaged in the investigation of traditional Catholics. During his tenure, Wray characterized the matter as part of a memo prepared by the FBI’s office in Richmond, Virginia. 

“I’m determined to get to the bottom of the Richmond memo, and of the FBI’s contempt for oversight in the last administration,” Grassley said in a statement. “I look forward to continuing to work with you to restore the FBI to excellence and prove once again that justice can and must be fairly and evenly administered, blind to whether we are Democrats or Republicans, believers or nonbelievers.” 

FBI TOP BOSS KASH PATEL SAYS BUREAU RAN COVER FOR HILLARY BUT IT ALL ENDS UNDER TRUMP

In a letter Tuesday to FBI Director Kash Patel, Grassley presented his findings while expressing frustration at the agency’s handling of the “anti-Catholic” memo under Wray and its alleged lack of transparency. Wray had told congressional lawmakers the memo was a single product by a single field office.

Despite Wray’s claims that the memo was a single product, the FBI found at least 13 additional FBI documents and five FBI attachments that used the terminology “radical traditionalist Catholic” and cited the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), Grassley said.

The FBI told Fox News Digital that it received Grassley’s letter but declined to comment further. 

During his testimony to lawmakers, Wray didn’t reveal the existence of a second draft product on the same topic.

“It was a product by one field office, which, of course, we have scores and scores of these products, and when we found out about it, we took action,” Wray told the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence about the memo in March 2023. 

‘RADICAL’ FBI PRACTICES ON DEI ‘ENDANGERED’ AMERICANS, BLACKBURN SAYS IN LETTER DEMANDING ANSWERS FROM WRAY

The memo became known when a whistleblower brought it to light. The memo, titled “Interest of Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremists in Radical-Traditionalist Catholic Ideology Almost Certainly Presents New Mitigation Opportunities,” drew instant criticism from Republicans, who demanded immediate answers from the agency.

A second FBI memo drafted by the FBI Richmond Field Office for bureau-wide distribution repeated the unfounded link between traditional Catholicism and violent extremism, Grassley said, noting that it was never published due to backlash after the public disclosure of the first memo. 

The new documents released by Grassley show that the Richmond memo was distributed to more than 1,000 FBI employees nationwide. One email exchange shows the FBI’s field office in Buffalo, New York, expressing concerns about hate groups identified by the SPLC, mentioned in the Richmond memo, being in its area of responsibility.

Grassley said the FBI may have relied on “deeply-biased sources” used in the memo. 

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“These letters focused on the preparation of the memo, its dissemination, the use of biased sources such as the radical Southern Poverty Law Center, and later, the FBI’s misleading representations to Congress, including those of former Director Wray,” Grassley wrote.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the SPLC.

And you thought you had just figured out what “reconciliation” means in Congressional budget terms.

Here’s a new vocabulary term: rescissions.

You might not be able to spell it. But I can tell you what it does.

A “rescissions” bill “rescinds” money which Congress has already allocated, ex post facto.

For simplicity, I often describe rescissions legislation as “spending cancellations.” Congress appropriated money. Then, under a recissions bill, Congress claws back dollars it previously appropriated. It’s kind of like a reverse appropriation.

And you thought that in elementary school, there were no takebacks.

TRUMP SENDS $9.4 BILLION DOGE CUTS PROPOSAL TO CONGRESS, TARGETING NPR, PBS

Presidential administrations send “budget requests” to Congress. This is the opposite. An administration can send a “recissions request” to Congress, too. And that’s what Budget Director Russ Vought is doing this week.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is intent on moving fast.

“I’d like to turn it around as quickly as possible,” said Johnson. “There may be multiple rescissions packages coming and we’ll process them as quickly as we can. It’s a big priority for me.”

Congressional conservatives and Elon Musk were not pleased with the relative paucity of spending cuts in the Big, Beautiful Bill.

Musk told CBS he was “disappointed” in the legislation.

“Which increases the budget deficit, not decreases it. And it undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing,” said Musk about the hallmark of President Trump’s agenda.

By Tuesday morning, the world’s richest man incinerated the bill on X and chastised most Republicans in Congress.

Musk characterized the legislation as “a disgusting abomination.” He lectured the 215 House Republicans who voted yes, declaring “you know you did wrong.”

SCOOP: HOUSE FREEDOM CAUCUS DRAWS BATTLE LINES AS WHITE HOUSE READIES $9.4B DOGE SPENDING CUTS

DOGE initially set a goal of unearthing $2 trillion in spending cuts. It then slashed the threshold to $1 trillion. DOGE finally homed in on about $150 billion in cuts by the end of next year. And many of those cuts aren’t even in effect because Congress has the power of the purse.

That’s where Congress comes in with a potential rescissions package.

Most Republicans are appreciative of the efforts by DOGE and Musk.

“I think this is the beginning and the whole conversation in Congress is changed because of it,” said Rep. Mike Flood, R-Neb., on Fox.

But DOGE evaluated “discretionary” spending. Congress has the “discretion” to spend or not spend certain money each year. That comes through the annual appropriations process. That’s why GOPers are now using their “discretion.” They intend to unwind some of that spending with a rescission plan.

But the largest percentage of federal spending – by about two to one – is tied to entitlements like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, plus interest on the debt. That spending is called “mandatory.” House Republicans tried to address that slightly in the Big, Beautiful Bill since it dealt with Medicaid spending. But cuts to federal departments lie in the appropriations realm and falls on the discretionary side of the ledger.

However, discretionary cuts via the Big, Beautiful Bill weren’t going to happen.

“Much of what DOGE has looked at is the discretionary spending,” said Flood. “This is far more complicated than just doing it in reconciliation.”

WHITE HOUSE SENDING $9.4 BILLION DOGE CUTS PACKAGE TO CONGRESS NEXT WEEK

And so here we are, with Republicans in Congress looking at the first major rescissions plan since 1993.

“The House Freedom Caucus strongly supports these critical rescissions, and we will support as many more rescissions packages the White House can send us in the coming weeks and months,” said the Freedom Caucus in a statement. “There is no excuse for a Republican House not to advance the first DOGE rescissions package the same week it is presented to Congress then quickly send it for passage in the Republican Senate so President Trump can sign it into law.”

The law requires the president to spend money which Congress approves. However, there are some loopholes where a President can “impound” money and not spend it.

GOP REBELS FIRE WARNING SHOT IN SHUTDOWN SHOWDOWN: NO DOGE, NO DEAL

On CNN, Vought suggested that the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 “allows for a procedure called pocket rescissions later in the year to be able to bank some of these savings without the bill actually being passed.”

Vought signaled that President Trump would likely lean on that tool. But he wants to start with an initial rescissions request.

A recissions plan requires a simple majority to pass the House. And, believe it or not, a simple majority in the Senate. There’s no 60-vote requirement to break a filibuster. Moreover, the “motion to proceed” to start debate on a recessions package is “privileged.” That means the Senate only needs 51 votes to begin the process. Many “motions to proceed” in the Senate need 60 yeas and can be subject to a filibuster.

President Trump formally routed his recissions request to Capitol Hill on Tuesday. It aims to trim $9.4 billion dollars from public broadcasting and foreign aid programs. All of this is money which Musk targeted in his DOGE reviews. But these cuts only count if Congress approves them.

“I want make sure you take the first tranche and see if it passes,” said Vought on the targeted set of proposed spending reductions. “The wider you do in terms of a package, the harder it is to pass. And if it doesn’t pass, this is the real world. And we will lose flexibility that we have to use executive tools to find other ways to make the DOGE cuts permanent.”

SPEAKER JOHNSON SETS EYES ON CUTTING GOVERNMENT SPENDING, VOWS TO TAKE A ‘BLOWTORCH’ TO THE ‘REGULATORY STATE’

Lawmakers are starting to process the rescissions proposal. Especially since Republicans often talk a good game about slashing spending.

“We’ll see if Congress can step up to the plate,” said Rep. Chip Roy, R-Tex., noting the political consequences of not green lighting the rescissions package. “(Members will have) to go campaign on why they want to continue to fund PBS, NPR, and a whole bunch of foreign policy and foreign funding that most Americans don’t like. So you go explain it.”

Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., represents one of the most-Democratic leaning districts in the country. He worries about the PBS and NPR cuts.

“I have a great rapport with Nebraska Public Radio and TV. I think they’ve been great to work with. And so that would be one I hope they don’t put in,” said Bacon.

Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Susan Collins, R-Maine, flagged reductions to PEPFAR, short for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.

“I consider that to be possibly the most successful public health program that has ever been used in Africa and other parts of the world. So I do not support the reduction in PEPFAR,” said Collins.

It’s unclear whether this opening bid to cut spending – minimal as it is – can make it through Congress. Lots of Republicans will sweat this. And these are just negligible cuts. Republicans extolled the work of DOGE. But if they want to eliminate spending, they have to put their vote where their favorite program is.

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We’ll know more in a few weeks whether Republicans can approve the recissions package and rescind what some characterize as wasteful spending. Otherwise, they may need to rescind those campaign promises.

President Donald Trump‘s “Big, Beautiful Bill” is facing criticism, even from within his own party, as some lawmakers remain skeptical about the massive spending package and its potential impact on the nation’s debt, despite it being under consideration by a Republican-controlled Congress.

The spending bill, which the House passed late last month and is now in the Senate’s hands, aims to address a number of issues, including tax policy, border security and immigration, defense, energy production, the debt limit, and adjustments to SNAP and Medicaid.

However, without a serious overhaul, lawmakers like Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., is still a “no” on the legislation because it will increase the nation’s debt limit. He is among a group of at least four Republican senators who have expressed concerns over Trump’s bill, because of the package’s projected increase in the national debt.

RAND PAUL SAYS HE WOULD SUPPORT ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ IF DEBT CEILING HIKE REMOVED

This week, Paul relayed his concerns to media members that the bill will raise the debt ceiling by $5 trillion. 

“We have never raised the debt ceiling without actually meeting that target,” he said. “So you can say it doesn’t directly add to the debt, but if you increase the ceiling $5 trillion, you’ll meet that. And what it does is it puts it off the back-burner. And then we won’t discuss it for a year or two.”

As of Tuesday, the national debt, which measures what the U.S. owes its creditors, was $36.2 trillion, according to the Treasury Department. Trump pushed back on Paul’s remarks about his bill. 

TRUMP WARNS RAND PAUL HE’S PLAYING INTO ‘HANDS OF THE DEMOCRATS’ WITH ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ OPPOSITION

“Rand Paul has very little understanding of the BBB, especially the tremendous GROWTH that is coming. He loves voting ‘NO’ on everything, he thinks it’s good politics, but it’s not. The BBB is a big WINNER!!!” Trump wrote on TRUTH Social.

Meanwhile, the national deficit, which occurs when the federal government’s spending exceeds its revenues, was $1 trillion as of Tuesday, according to Treasury Department data. 

On Tuesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the “blatantly wrong claim that the ‘One, Big, Beautiful Bill’ increases the deficit is based on the Congressional Budget Office and other scorekeepers who use shoddy assumptions and have historically been terrible at forecasting across Democrat and Republican administrations alike.”

SEN. RON JOHNSON PROPOSES ‘LINE-BY-LINE’ CUTS TO PASS TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’

The outlook for the federal debt level is bleak, as FOX Business previously reported, with economists increasingly sounding the alarm over the torrid pace of spending by Congress and the White House. 

Under the terms of the bill, the bill would add over $2 trillion to budget deficits over a decade, according to a recent analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

All together, the tax cuts and reforms in the package add nearly $3.8 trillion to the deficit over a decade – though spending reductions in other parts of the bill offset some of that to arrive at the $2.3 trillion figure.

Elon Musk, who ended his tenure last week as Trump’s lead in the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), doubled down on his position Tuesday that the House’s reconciliation package was an “abomination.”

WHITE HOUSE STANDS BY TAX BILL AFTER MUSK CALLS IT A ‘DISGUSTING ABOMINATION’

“I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore,” Musk posted on X Tuesday. “This massive, outrageous, pork-filled congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.”

The Trump administration and some congressional Republicans have pushed back on the estimates of the bill, also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, and its impact on the deficit, arguing that economic growth from the tax cuts will stimulate economic activity and lead to more tax revenue than what is projected.

SPEAKER JOHNSON CLASHES WITH RAND PAUL OVER ‘WIMPY’ SPENDING CUTS IN TRUMP’S BILL

“Hope it does a lot to get some further cuts,” Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., told Fox News about the bill. “We don’t want to bankrupt the country. And what Elon also should recognize is we don’t need more solar and EV credits. That actually makes it worse. He probably knows that, though.”

To push back on the criticism, the White House launched a website where Americans can tabulate how much the bill will personally save them.

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The House passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act on May 22 with a narrow 215-214-1 vote that went largely along party lines.

If that version of the bill is revised by the Senate, the legislation will have to go back to the House for another vote before it can go to Trump’s desk and become law. 

EXCLUSIVE: Fox News Digital sat down with SkillStorm CEO Justin Vianello, who addressed issues the federal government faces hiring workers, sometimes raising national security concerns, and explained what his company is doing to streamline that process.

The federal government has struggled for decades with staffing issues in key roles like cybersecurity, tech and other high-skill areas, an issue flagged as far back as 2001, according to the Government Accountability Office. Vianello discussed how SkillStorm is attempting to solve those issues. 

“If we look at the procurement process and the way it’s been structured, there’s significant delays,” Vianello told Fox News Digital. “So, it can take years to actually get to a point where a solicitation is actually awarded. And then, ironically or paradoxically, post that award, the agency will expect … the particular company to be able to deliver a team in 10 days. So, this process is inefficient and somewhat outdated.”

Vianello explained that the current hiring process is “lengthy” and “laborious,” sometimes taking years rather than months and creating delays that teams need to properly mobilize and deploy. 

MAGA GROUP FIGHTS TO UNDO CARTER-ERA BAN ON MERIT-BASED FEDERAL HIRING

“One of the solutions to that issue is to actually allow for an on-ramp time where people can spend between two to four months to custom build teams that have the right skills, that have (the) right certifications that are based in the right locations to rapidly deploy teams and to accelerate IT transformation and automation. And that’s really where the SkillStorm model comes in,” Vianello said. 

Vianello says the company has spent millions of dollars in recent years building a Performance Acceleration Center for Excellence that is essentially a learning management training system with a customized curriculum and content along with a “stable of trainers” in a position to “rapidly upskill and deploy people.”

“How do we leverage that infrastructure to build out a solution for the federal government?” Vianello said. “Well, what we do is we leverage that infrastructure to accelerate and train teams. And the way the model works is we both bring people into our program. We train them for anywhere between 10 and 16 weeks. We pay them while we’re training them. We help them achieve their certification, and then we deploy them. And we recover the investment that we make by billing them hourly.”

FLASHBACK: TOP FIVE WILDEST MOMENTS FROM ELON MUSK’S DOGE TENURE AS IT COMES TO AN END

That system, Vianello explained, means SkillStorm takes “all the risk up front” and recovers it by billing hourly to the client. 

“Now this is the perfect solution to being able to custom-build tech teams, create net new talent for the ecosystem and being able deploy these people over time. But the government is gonna have to change the procurement system to not require people to be deployed within 10 days but allow companies to build these teams over two, three, four months.”

Another issue, Vianello told Fox News Digital, is the current hiring process can get tied up with security clearances and become a national security risk. 

“That’s absolutely part of it, but I think there’s a bigger issue here if you look more generally at our model and some of the issues that are facing the market,” Vianello said. “Well, if you look at SkillStorm’s model, SkillStorm has an innovative cost-effective solution to custom-build U.S.-based tech teams for rapid deployment. 

“Now, we have a student debt crisis in this country, and, at the same time, what are we doing? We’re offshoring our children’s roles to other countries, and we’re using visa holders to take up the place of entry-level tech roles. Now, if we don’t invest in programs like SkillStorm, if we do invest in these outcome-driven, apprenticeship-type programs, where’s the next generation of cybersecurity experts going to come from?

“Where’s the new generation of AI innovators going to come from? This is a national security issue that is essential in driving innovation. Right now, there are 500,000 open cybersecurity roles as of January 2025. We are the domestic models, like these apprenticeship models, that can support that gap to make sure that we’re protecting national security.”

Former General Services Administration (GSA) head Emily Murphy, who previously spoke to Fox News Digital about the GSA’s work to streamline government in the era of DOGE, said she has “seen firsthand how outdated federal systems have become one of the most serious yet least discussed threats to national security.

“Agencies charged with safeguarding cybersecurity and digital infrastructure are losing the talent battle to the private sector, and the slow, outdated process for onboarding cleared workers doesn’t match the urgency of today’s threats.”

Murphy explained that the federal government needs a “new pipeline” that “delivers clearance-eligible, project-ready professionals trained on mission-specific tools.”

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“SkillStorm is doing exactly that, deploying “Stormers,” technologists trained on specific tech platforms, at a significant discount. It’s a smarter, faster way to secure the talent our government urgently needs.

Vianello told Fox News Digital SkillStorm and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have similar goals in making government more efficient. 

“I think DOGE is really focused on IT automation and IT transformation and doing it on an efficient and cost-effective basis,” Vianello said. 

“We believe, going forward, there’s probably going to be more of a push to less full-time employees and more of a push towards efficient contractors coming in and accelerating project delivery. So, again, this really does come back in our belief. 

“To the solicitation process, how do we tighten it up? How do we make sure that once an award is made and that technology is implemented, it’s not outdated? Because, if that continues to happen, how are you going to continue to attract technologists, young technologists who want to be part of the change?”

A man detained by the Secret Service early Tuesday morning after attempting to jump the wall at President Donald Trump’s Mar-A-Lago resort, reportedly told law enforcement that he wanted to gain entry to “spread the gospel” to Trump and marry his teenage granddaughter.

Anthony Thomas Reyes, 23, was arrested by the Palm Beach Police Department early Tuesday morning after attempting to unlawfully enter the president’s Florida resort, according to booking records from the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office. 

The police report detailing the incident reportedly chronicled how Reyes, who was previously arrested over the New Year’s holiday after once again trying to illegally enter Mar-a-Lago, told officers he wanted to get into Trump’s resort to “spread the gospel” to the president and marry his granddaughter, Kai.

TRUMP’S GRANDDAUGHTER POKES FUN AT TIGER WOODS WHILE ASKING SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER ABOUT PGA CHAMPIONSHIP ARREST

Reyes was initially arrested on trespassing charges and given a $1,000 bond, but his bond was subsequently raised to $50,000, according to records from the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office. Federal charges could likely follow. 

The president was in the nation’s capital at the time of the incident. 

“An adult male was arrested early Tuesday morning by the Palm Beach Police Department for unlawfully entering the Mar-a-Lago Club property in Florida. Shortly after midnight, the individual scaled a perimeter fence and triggered alarms,” the U.S. Secret Service told Fox News Digital. “U.S. Secret Service personnel detained him without incident at the scene. Palm Beach Police officers responded to the scene and took the individual into custody, charging him with occupied trespassing.”

WOMAN ARRESTED FOR ATTEMPTING TO CLIMB FENCE OUTSIDE WHITE HOUSE

Reyes’s Tuesday arrest was not the first time he tried to enter the president’s Florida compound, according to the Palm Beach Daily News. Per the arrest report, according to the local outlet, Palm Beach police issued a warning to Reyes for trespassing at Mar-a-Lago on New Year’s Eve, when Trump was present at the property.

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Conservative energy leaders are celebrating President Donald Trump’s latest effort to unleash American drilling. 

The Department of the Interior announced a proposal Monday to rescind President Joe Biden’s restrictions on oil and gas development in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska. 

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said a Biden-era 2024 Bureau of Land Management (BLM) rule that restricted energy development for more than half of the 23 million acres on Alaska’s North Slope ignored the Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act of 1976. 

“The National Petroleum Reserve (NPR), created by Congress over a century ago to secure America’s energy supply, supports responsible oil development on 13 million acres,” Frank Lasee, president of Truth in Energy and Climate, said in a statement shared with Fox News Digital. 

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TO OPEN 13 MILLION ALASKA ACRES TO MINING, DRILLING

“President Biden’s drilling ban in Alaska undermined energy security, increasing reliance on foreign oil, raising gasoline prices and fueling inflation through higher transportation costs,” Lasee added. “Resuming drilling puts economic growth and energy independence ahead of climate ideology in a place almost no regular American will ever visit.”

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Consistent with Trump’s executive orders, the proposed revision reverts to regulations that were in place prior to May 7, 2024, which Lasee called a “commendable” prioritization of “American energy needs and economic well-being while adhering to the law.”

“President Biden never should have halted congressionally sanctioned oil drilling in Alaska,” said Sterling Burnett, director of the Arthur B. Robinson Center on Climate and Environmental Policy at the Heartland Institute. “Trump is to be applauded, both for putting Americans’ energy needs and our economic well-being first and for following the law by opening these areas back up for production.”

According to the Department of Interior, the 2024 rule provisions lacked “a basis in the Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act” and undermined the BLM’s congressional obligation to oversee timely leasing in the region. 

“President Trump’s move to restore drilling in Alaska’s Arctic region is a bold and necessary step toward reclaiming American energy independence,” Jason Isaac, CEO of the American Energy Institute, said. 

Trump vowed to unleash American energy on the campaign trail in 2024 and signed executive orders on the first day of his second term to rescind Biden-era climate policies. 

“By reversing Biden’s disastrous restrictions on 13 million acres, Trump is unleashing the abundant resources that power our economy, lower energy costs and strengthen national security. This is a victory for American workers, consumers and allies who rely on stable, affordable energy,” Isaac added. 

Steve Milloy, senior policy fellow at the Energy & Environment Legal Institute, called the announcement “more good news from the Trump administration in rolling back more of Biden’s war on fossil fuels.”

“Promises made. Promises kept. But the Trump administration will need to go further to give investors confidence that the Alaska leases will actually be viable. Radical climate activists will resort to the courts and scare off investors. There likely needs to be a legislative solution to that,” Milloy added.

Trump and his Republican allies are seeking to roll back some of Biden’s green energy initiatives through budget reconciliation on Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.”

“The National Petroleum Reserve (NPR) was created more than 100 years ago specifically to provide a supply of oil for America’s energy security. That energy security can be achieved by responsibly developing our oil reserves, including in the Gulf of America, our vast shale oil deposits in America’s heartland and, now, thankfully, the 13 million acres of the NPR that are going to be developed,” said Gregory Whitestone, CO2 Coalition executive director.

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“Continuation of the Biden administration’s drilling ban would have resulted in a greater reliance on foreign supplies of oil (and) increases in gasoline prices and the inflationary spiral across all sectors of the American economy from increased transportation costs,” Whitestone added. 

Rising Democratic Party star Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, who sparked controversy earlier this year with remarks about Elon Musk and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, formally launched her bid for ranking member of the House Oversight Committee Tuesday.

“These are not normal times — and this cannot be a business-as-usual moment,” Crockett said in a post on X. 

The House Oversight Committee is responsible for holding the executive branch of the federal government and President Donald Trump accountable in Congress. The committee’s last ranking member, Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., died May 21 after battling cancer. He was elected to the position in 2023.

“Since the start of the 119th Congress, the late ranking member, Gerry Connolly, led Oversight Democrats in the fight to hold the Trump Administration accountable and it was my distinct privilege and absolute honor to serve alongside him as the Vice Ranking Member,” Crockett said in a letter to her Democratic colleagues. 

JASMINE CROCKETT AGREES DURING TOWN HALL THAT ‘REPUBLICANS WANT POOR PEOPLE TO DIE’

Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Tuesday a special election to replace Connolly in the House. His death May 21 also left a leadership gap on the House Oversight Committee, and House Democrats are now tasked with electing a new leader to challenge Trump. 

Connolly designated Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., as interim ranking member, and the race is on among House Democrats for the open leadership position. Democratic representatives Robert Garcia of California and Kweisi Mfume of Maryland have announced their own bids to lead the committee. 

Crockett had signaled her intention to run for ranking member, and the Texas congresswoman’s letter to Democrats Tuesday made her bid official. 

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“In this moment, Americans are demanding a more strategic, aggressive, and energetic fight,” Crockett said. 

“Understanding that fierce urgency, I formally announce my candidacy for Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform — with a focus on standing up for American families, defending the Constitution and the rule of law, and ensuring the government serves the people, not the privileged few.”

Crockett has risen to the national stage for her viral moments in the House, building name recognition among Democrats and a reputation among Republicans. 

Earlier this year, Attorney General Pam Bondi accused Crockett of “threatening lives” and said she should apologize for her rhetoric against Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) for saying, “All I want to see happen on my birthday is for Elon to be taken down.” 

Crockett said she was referring to “nonviolent” resistance. 

Crockett was also criticized this year for calling Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, who is in a wheelchair, “Governor Hot Wheels.” She walked back the comments after her remarks went viral, calling the outrage a “distraction.” 

And the Texas congresswoman dominated headlines last year when her campaign trademarked the phrase “bleach blonde, bad built, butch body” after a verbal dispute with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga. 

Her viral moments have even caught the attention of Trump, who called Crockett a “low I.Q. person.”

“Our country is in an existential crisis driven by an out-of-control Executive with a flagrant disregard for our Constitution, our way of governance, and our very way of life as citizens of a democratic republic,” Crockett said in her letter to House Democrats. “The Administration has refused to respect congressional authority, abide by lawful judicial orders, or respond to public outrage.”

“The magnitude of these unprecedented times warrants a resistance and tactics never before seen. We must pull back the curtain on the unmitigated chaos under Trump 2.0 and translate our findings to the American people in a way they can digest,” Crockett added. 

In the letter, Crockett praised President Joe Biden, touted her own achievements during her first two terms in the House and asked for her colleagues’ support. 

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., another rising Democratic Party star, said earlier this year she would not seek the top Democratic position on the House Oversight Committee. 

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“It’s actually clear to me that the underlying dynamics in the caucus have not shifted with respect to seniority as much as I think would be necessary, and so I believe I’ll be staying put at Energy and Commerce,” Ocasio-Cortez’s spokesperson confirmed to Fox News Digital in a statement first reported by NBC. 

Ocasio-Cortez lost her House Oversight bid to Connolly late last year. Connolly had announced his plan to step back as ranking member of the Oversight Committee after just four months on the job due to the resurgence of his esophageal cancer. 

Sens. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Ted Cruz, R-Texas., sparred Tuesday over the uptick in threats made to federal court judges during President Donald Trump’s second term. Their heated standoff comes as federal judges have issued a record number of injunctions against the flurry of executive actions by the president. 

The testy exchange took place during a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee hearing titled “The Supposedly Least Dangerous Branch: District Judges v. Trump.”

Cruz, the subcommittee chair, used his remarks at the outset of the hearing to take aim at Democrats on the subcommittee, who he said were “utterly silent” about judicial threats under the Biden administration, including after threats were made against conservative Supreme Court justices. 

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Cruz took aim at Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., for “unleashing” protesters who gathered outside the homes of Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh prior to their decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization – the landmark ruling that overturned a 50-year-old abortion rights precedent – which he later said was ironic given the current “pearl-clutching” stance of Democrats on the panel.

His remarks sparked a quick rebuke from Booker, who said, “Something you said is actually dangerous, and it needs to be addressed.”

“This implication that there was silence [from Democrats on the panel] at a time there were threats on people’s houses is absolutely absurd,” he continued.

“I remember the rhetoric and the comments, the concern from [Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del.],” Booker said. “I actually distinctly remember you, chairman, on more than one occasion, condemning those attacks on Republican-appointed jurists.”

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“To say things like that just feeds the partisanship in this institution, and it feeds the fiery rhetoric. And it’s just plain not true,” Booker added.

In response, Cruz argued the “angry mobs” that appeared outside the homes of conservative Supreme Court justices prior to their decision in Dobbs were in violation of U.S.C. Section 1507. That law prohibits picketing outside the homes of judges or justices’ homes in a way that could influence their decision or otherwise obstruct justice. 

Despite the protests, Cruz said, the Biden-led Justice Department “prosecuted nobody.” 

“I really appreciate that you have now shifted the accusation you made earlier,” Booker shot back. “Your accusation was that we were silent in the face of protests at Supreme Court justices’ homes. Again, we joined together in a bipartisan way, not only to condemn that but to pass legislation to extend round-the-clock security protection. So if you’re saying we didn’t criticize –” he started before Cruz interjected.

“Did the Biden DOJ go out and arrest a single person under this law?” the Texas lawmaker asked.

Booker attempted to respond before Cruz interrupted again, “Did the Biden DOJ arrest even one [person]? Again, the answer is no.”

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Booker attempted once more to respond before Cruz interrupted again, prompting Booker to raise his voice.

“I did not interrupt you, sir, I would appreciate it if you would let me finish,” he told Cruz.

“I am sick and tired of hearing the kind of heated partisan rhetoric, which is one of the reasons why we have such divisions in this country,” Booker continued, prompting Cruz to laugh openly in response.

“The attacks we see from the president of the United States of America, trolling and dragging judges through is what we should be talking about,” Booker said.

“I’m simply taking issue with the claim that you made at the top, that people on the Democratic side of the aisle do not care about the safety and the security of judges and said nothing,” he continued, adding that the notion that his Democrat colleagues said nothing in the face of Supreme Court justice threats “is a patent lie.”

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

The two continued arguing before Cruz said, “Let the record reflect that Spartacus did not answer the question and did not tell us whether the criminal law” under U.S.C. Section 1507 should be enforced, “because he knows the answer is yes.”

The hearing comes as the number of threats against federal judges has spiked during Trump’s second term, which has seen hundreds of federal lawsuits filed in courts across the country seeking to either pause or halt the flurry of sweeping executive orders and actions taken by the president. 

Trump has repeatedly criticized what he called “activist judges,” prompting Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts to issue a rare public warning.

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The U.S. Marshals Service said last week that it has investigated more than 370 threats against federal judges since Trump’s inauguration in January, which is a sharp rise from 2024, when 509 people were investigated during the entire year.

Democrats on the panel used Tuesday’s hearing to renew requests for the Justice Department and FBI to investigate an uptick in anonymous “pizza deliveries” sent to federal judges, which can be used as a threat or warning to let judges know their home address is known.

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) parked a custom-wrapped food truck in front of the Republican National Committee headquarters in Washington, D.C., in an effort to troll President Trump over his tariff policies.

The stunt received widespread mockery from conservatives. 

The DNC used the acronym TACO for “Trump Always Chickens Out” to provoke Trump’s ire. The phrase was coined by Wall Street analysts when referring to Trump’s tariff policies, suggesting Trump will walk back the steep reciprocal tariffs he announced in April. 

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“Trump always chickens out. We’re just bringing the tacos to match,” DNC Chair Ken Martin told Fox News Digital of the effort. 

The move did not impress conservatives on social media who highlighted it as an example of Democrats struggling with their messaging during Trump’s presidency.

“The party that brought you the hugely successful ‘Dark Brandon’ and ‘Republicans are Weird’ campaigns are now going all in on ‘TACO,’” Washington Free Beacon reporter Chuck Ross posted on X. 

“We have the lamest opposition in American history,” Vice President JD Vance posted on X. 

“Democrats are doing what they do best: cheap gimmicks, free handouts, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they stuck us with the bill,” Western Regional & National Hispanic press secretary Christian Martinez posted on X. 

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In a statement to Fox News Digital, NRCC spokesman Mike Marinella mocked the DNC for parking the truck at a church a block away. 

“Looks like the Democrats took a break from fighting amongst themselves to stage a pathetic stunt,” Marinella said.  The most embarrassing part? They couldn’t even get the location right. You can’t fix stupid.” 

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“LMFAO,” Zach Parkinson, RNC communications director, told Fox News Digital. “A taco truck? Are they going to be giving out free vasectomies again, too? These people are morons. No wonder Democrats’ approval rating is at a historic low.”

Abhi Rahman, the DNC’s deputy communications director, took aim at Vance’s X post, telling Fox News Digital Democrats know Vance is the “cringiest VP in American history.”

“We understand that JD Vance, the cringiest VP in American history who cannot order a donut like a normal human being, prefers to take food away from people, including 40 million Americans whose SNAP benefits were just scrapped in the GOP budget,” he said.

Earlier this week, conservative commentators took aim at a TikTok posted by Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., in which he is filmed eating a taco in an attempt to mock Trump’s tariff strategy, and some declared it “cringeworthy.”

Fox News Digital’s Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report.