NationalWatch

The largest number of voters since 2011 say they are proud of the country, according to a new Fox News national survey.

Fifty-eight percent say they are proud of the country. That’s up 13 percentage points since June 2024 and the highest since 2011 when a record 69% were proud. By contrast, 41% are not proud. The survey was completed before recent events in the Middle East, including U.S. military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities and President Donald Trump brokering a ceasefire between Israel and Iran.

FOX NEWS POLL: VOTERS THINK IRAN POSES A REAL THREAT TO US SECURITY, BUT SPLIT ON ISRAEL’S STRIKE 

The increase comes from an overwhelming majority of Republicans (85%) now being proud compared to last summer (36%). That makes Republicans 30 points prouder of the country today than Democrats were a year ago (55% of Democrats in 2024). In 2011, majorities of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents were proud.

The new survey shows 36% of Democrats are proud (61% not proud) while Independents held relatively steady with roughly 4 in 10 expressing pride.

FOX NEWS POLL: ECONOMIC PESSIMISM ABATES SLIGHTLY AS VOTERS REFLECT ON THE ECONOMY

“Although pride in the U.S.A. seems like it should be above partisan wrangling, that’s only partially borne out by the data,” says Republican pollster Daron Shaw, who conducts the Fox News survey with Democrat Chris Anderson. “The reality is the out-party has become saltier in recent years when asked about the ‘land of the free.’ Democrats today (and Republicans last year) aren’t willing to express pride so long as the other side controls the White House.”      

Majorities across most groups are proud, especially MAGA supporters (92%), Republican men (88%), and White evangelical Christians (80%). A lack of pride is highest among women with a college degree (51% not proud), voters under age 30 (57%), and Democrats (61%).

A 68% majority of voters also agrees the U.S. is the best country in the world to live in (30% disagree). While that’s roughly where sentiment has been for the last four years, it doesn’t match the 8 in 10 who felt the same in 2015 (83%) and 2011 (84%) when the question was first asked.

In 2011, 89% of Republicans, 84% of Democrats, and 73% of Independents thought living in America was the best.  For Republicans, that number held steady at 90% today, but has decreased by 34 points among Democrats (50%), and by 13 points among Independents (60%).

Overall, one-third trust the federal government compared to nearly two-thirds who distrust it. The only time more voters trusted than distrusted the government was in 2002 (54% vs. 36%), and that was also the first time the question was asked on a Fox News survey.

Most Democrats (73%) and Independents (80%) distrust the government, while Republicans are split (47% trust, 48% don’t trust).

Even as more are proud of the country, more than 8 in 10 (85% extremely or very) are concerned about the future of the country, the highest in a list of eight concerns, albeit by one point. Almost as many say inflation is a huge concern (84%), followed by government spending (80%), Iran getting a nuclear bomb (78%), antisemitism (69%), illegal immigration (67%), domestic use of U.S. military troops (66%), and protests in U.S. cities (63%).

The future of the country is the top issue for Democrats and Independents (90% each concerned). For Republicans, it comes in fourth at 79% behind illegal immigration, Iran getting a nuclear bomb, and government spending.

CLICK HERE FOR CROSSTABS AND TOPLINE

Conducted June 13-16, 2025, under the direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News survey includes interviews with a sample of 1,003 registered voters randomly selected from a national voter file. Respondents spoke with live interviewers on landlines (149) and cellphones (566) or completed the survey online after receiving a text (288). Results based on the full sample have a margin of sampling error of ±3 percentage points. Sampling error for results among subgroups is higher. In addition to sampling error, question wording and order can influence results. Weights are generally applied to age, race, education, and area variables to ensure the demographics of respondents are representative of the registered voter population. Sources for developing weight targets include the American Community Survey, Fox News Voter Analysis and voter file data.

South Dakota Rep. Dusty Johnson, the state’s sole member of the House, has announced a run for governor.

Johnson is chair of the House GOP’s Main Street Caucus and a member of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus. He has served in Congress since 2019, following a job as vice president at a South Dakota-based engineering and consulting firm. Prior to his role as an executive, Johnson also worked as South Dakota Public Utilities commissioner from 2005 to 2011, during which he was appointed chief of staff to former Gov. Dennis Daugaard.    

The announcement, deemed by local media as a “formality” after Johnson was already rumored to run, came Monday at a campaign event and was paired with a video the representative shared on social media.

KEY HOUSE GOP MODERATE DON BACON WON’T SEEK RE-ELECTION

“I’s been such an honor to work for you in Congress. We rolled up our sleeves and got things moving in the right direction, cutting trillions in wasteful spending, standing with President Trump to secure our border and finally getting tough on China,” Johnson said. 

“Those were important fights to build a better country for our kids, but their future doesn’t begin in some far away place. It begins here, at home, in South Dakota. That’s why we need to hit the gas and give them a clear path to a bright future.”

TRUMP REACTS TO TILLIS NOT SEEKING RE-ELECTION, SENDS WARNING TO ‘COST CUTTING REPUBLICANS’

Following the announcement, criticism began popping up online that Johnson has not adequately supported President Donald Trump, and claims he is a “never-Trumper” are “lies of the desperate.”

“Here are the facts,” Johnson told Fox News Digital. “Donald Trump has had me down to Mar-a-Lago. I’ve gone to the Super Bowl with President Trump. I donated $10,000 to his re-election campaign years ago. He endorsed me in my 2020 race. I was his state campaign chairman for his re-elect.” 

Johnson added that he is someone who has “a long-standing, multi-year history of being a partner” with Trump.

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Johnson also said he has proven to be a “key ally” of House Speaker Mike Johnson, R–La., noting he was one of the members of Congress who “helped deliver the votes to get him elected speaker.”

On the fight in the Senate over the Trump-endorsed One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Johnson said he supports the version of the bill passed by the House of Representatives and expressed optimism it will get passed by the Senate by the GOP’s self-imposed July 4 deadline.

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…

– Americans weigh in on Trump’s Big, Beautiful Bill: polls

– Trump may look to his daughter-in-law to defend Senate seat in key battleground

– Mamdani’s public grocery stores may have devastating effects on the city’s food supply

Trump administration sues Los Angeles over sanctuary policies that ‘impede’ ICE operations

FIRST ON FOX: The Trump administration is suing the city of Los Angeles, alleging that the policies interfere with federal immigration authorities from doing their jobs.

“Sanctuary policies were the driving cause of the violence, chaos, and attacks on law enforcement that Americans recently witnessed in Los Angeles,” Attorney General Pam Bondi told Fox News in an exclusive statement.

“Jurisdictions like Los Angeles that flout federal law by prioritizing illegal aliens over American citizens are undermining law enforcement at every level – it ends under President Trump,” Bondi added… READ MORE.

White House

UNPOPULAR: Americans weigh in on Trump’s Big, Beautiful Bill: polls

‘CHERISH OUR FARMERS’: Trump urges ‘temporary pass’ from immigration crackdown for key industries: ‘I cherish our farmers’

FAMILY IN THE FRAY: Trump may look to his daughter-in-law to defend Senate seat in key battleground

World Stage

‘CIRCLE OF PEACE’: Trump pressures Israel to end Gaza conflict as he eyes Abraham Accords expansion

MIDDLE EAST SHAKEUP: Trump to sign order lifting sanctions on Syria

Capitol Hill

FREE SPEECH FIGHT: Supreme Court to hear Republican challenge that could shake up US elections

Across America 

RETAIL RISK RISING: Mamdani’s public grocery stores may have devastating effects on city’s food supply

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

President Donald Trump calls Sen. Thom Tillis’ announcement that the two-term Republican senator won’t see re-election next year in battleground North Carolina “Great News.”

And with Tillis — who Trump torched this past weekend for not supporting his so-called “big, beautiful” spending and tax cut bill in a key test vote — now out of the picture in the midterms, it’s likely the president and his political team will be the kingmakers in the selection of the 2026 GOP nominee in North Carolina.

“It’s the president’s choice. The president and his team will have those conversations,” a Republican operative, pointing to Trump’s immense sway over the GOP, told Fox News.

TILLIS DENOUNCES TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL ’ HOURS AFTER SURPRISE RETIREMENT ANNOUNCEMENT

“Does he have great choices? Absolutely,” said the strategist, who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely.

Likely at the top of the list is Lara Trump, the president’s daughter-in-law who served last year, amid the 2024 presidential campaign, as co-chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC).

TRUMP REACTS TO TILLIS NOT SEEKING RE-ELECTION, SENDS WARNING TO ‘COST CUTTING REPUBLICANS’

Lara Trump, who grew up in Wilmington, North Carolina, and attended undergraduate studies at North Carolina State University, is married to the president’s son, Eric.

She stepped down from her post at the RNC late last year and currently hosts “My View with Lara Trump” on the Fox News Channel.

The Republican strategist highlighted that Lara Trump “has the name, but beyond that she is a fundraising powerhouse, and she has the discipline to be an incredible candidate and senator if she chooses to.”

“She’s probably the only person who should have ‘considering’ in the same sentence because she is the president’s daughter-in-law and that will be a consideration,” the operative added.

Four years ago, Lara Trump considered making a bid for an open Senate seat in North Carolina in the 2022 midterm elections.

“It would be an incredible thing. It’s my home state, a state I love so much, and look, I think we need some strong Republicans in Washington, D.C.,” she told Fox News at the time.

She ultimately decided against launching a campaign, citing her two young children as the main reason for her decision. But she did leave open the possibility of a future run for office in her home state.

Lara and Eric Trump own a home in Florida, and Lara Trump’s name was briefly mentioned late last year as a potential successor to Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, who was nominated by Trump to serve as Secretary of State in his second administration.

“After an incredible amount of thought, contemplation, and encouragement from so many, I have decided to remove my name from consideration for the United States Senate, she said in a statement near the end of December.

Another name being floated in North Carolina is RNC Chair Michael Whatley.

Whatley served five years as chair of the North Carolina GOP before Trump early last year picked him to succeed Ronna McDaniel as RNC chair.

“Chairman Whatley is honored to have been asked by President Trump to serve as Chair of the Republican National Committee following a hugely successful 2025, and is focused on grown Republican majorities in Congress,” an RNC adviser told Fox News when asked about the North Carolina Senate race.

WHAT MIKE WHATLEY TOLD FOX NEWS DIGITAL

Another name that comes up is Rep. Richard Hudson, who for a second straight cycle is chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee.

Along with Whatley, Hudson, who for over a decade has represented a congressional district in the central section of North Carolina, is a strong Trump ally.

A source familiar told Fox News that Hudson “is tight with Trump world, and if they really wanted him to run, he wouldn’t tell them no.”

A trio of first-term Republican congressmen in North Carolina may also have interest in the race to succeed Tillis.

Sources confirmed to Fox News that Rep. Pat Harrigan is eyeing a bid. Reps. Tim Moore and Brad Knott may also have interest. And four-term GOP Rep. Murphy may consider a run.

SCOOP: HOUSE REPUBLICAN EYES BID FOR THOM TILLIS SENATE SEAT AFTER TRUMP ATTACK

Some national Republicans are relieved that Tillis isn’t seeking re-election. Tillis, who has long been an independent thinker who crossed the political aisle to seek compromise, doesn’t poll well with the MAGA base.

Some Republican operatives familiar with Senate races suggested that the GOP would have an easier time energizing base voters in a smaller midterm electorate with a more conservative candidate than Tillis on the 2026 ballot as the GOP’s nominee in North Carolina.

And Trump loyalists saw the Tillis announcement as further proof of the president’s immense hold over the GOP.

Tillis, in a statement, noted that “in Washington over the last few years, it’s become increasingly evident that leaders who are willing to embrace bipartisanship, compromise, and demonstrate independent thinking are becoming an endangered species.”

In the race for the Democratic Senate nomination, former Rep. Wiley Nickel, a trial lawyer and former state senator, launched a bid earlier this year. 

But all eyes are on former two-term Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, who is mulling a run. Cooper is viewed as the most formidable and prominent potential Democratic candidate for a seat his party is aiming to flip from red to blue.

But no Democrat has won a Senate race in North Carolina since 2008.

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Hours after Tillis’ announcement on Sunday, a top non-partisan political handicapper shifted their rating on the North Carolina Senate race from Lean Republican to Toss Up.

“The surprise move from Tillis moves this race into the Toss Up category and officially makes the Tar Heel State Democrats’ top pickup opportunity,” the Cook Report’s Jessica Walter said.

Members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus are warning they have serious issues with the Senate’s version of President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” as it’s currently written.

The group of GOP rebels argued in a public statement on Sunday that the Senate bill adds $1.3 trillion to the federal deficit, whereas the House-passed bill would increase the federal deficit by $72 billion.

“Even without interest costs, it is $651 billion over our agreed budget framework,” the statement read.

The Senate is currently working through the bill and is expected to finish sometime later Monday or even on Tuesday. 

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

The Senate bill would add an extra $1 trillion to raise the debt limit, compared to the House version and permanently extend certain corporate tax cuts in President Donald Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) that the House only extended temporarily.

It also includes several specific new additions aimed at easing Senate Republicans’ own concerns with the bill, including a $25 billion rural hospital fund to offset issues with Medicaid cuts, and a tax break for whalers that appears aimed at Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska.

The Senate is operating under a mechanism called “current policy baseline,” which would effectively zero-out the cost of extending TCJA tax cuts by calculating them as the de facto operational policy rather than calculating the cost as if they were not in place.

Absent congressional action, TCJA tax cuts expire at the end of 2025.

DEM DELAY TACTIC ENDS, DEBATE BEGINS ON TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’

Conservatives in the House have warned they have serious issues with the bill, however. 

Reps. Ralph Norman, R-Texas, and Eric Burlison, R-Mo., both House Freedom Caucus members, said the bill could face steep odds — even fail — in the lower chamber if changes were not made.

Both said it could fail in a House-wide procedural vote before lawmakers could even contend with the measure itself. A rule vote is traditionally taken to allow for debate on legislation before lawmakers weigh in on it.

“If it gets through [the House Rules Committee], I don’t think it survives on the floor in the current form it’s in. You know, we told the senators that,” Norman told Fox News Digital. “They knew this all along.”

Norman said Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., had done a “good job,” but added of the Senate, “They’ve got fighters… but we’ve just got to have certain things that comply with our House version.”

The legislation could still change before it gets to the House, however, as the Senate works through a parade of amendments from both Democrats and Republicans.

Burlison said it could depend on the fate of an amendment by Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., which would significantly hike the Medicaid financial burden for states that expanded their Medicaid population under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). 

The change, if passed, would roll back the current 90% rate that the government pays for the Medicaid expansion population through the federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) back down to the non-expansion rate, which hovers as low as 50%.

Scott’s proposal could add hundreds of billions in savings to the plan, in addition to the nearly $1 trillion the Senate plan already saves in Medicaid spending.

“I don’t see how what the Senate is doing will pass the House if [Rick Scott’s amendment] does not pass at the minimum. It’s probably going to take more spending reductions than that, but that would get the majority of us there,” Burlison told Fox News Digital, without commenting on House GOP leaders.

He predicted the bill could be “killed” in the House-wide rule vote otherwise.

Indeed, several House Freedom Caucus members have taken to X to publicly urge Senate Republicans to approve Scott’s amendment.

“All Republican Senators should vote YES on Senator Rick Scott’s very reasonable ‘elimination of theft from Medicaid’ FMAP amendment,” Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., posted.

Fox News Digital reached out to Speaker Mike Johnson’s office for comment on House Freedom Caucus members’ comments.

Notably, key provisions originally in the House bill were stripped out of the legislation for not being “Byrd-compliant.”

NATIONAL DEBT TRACKER: AMERICAN TAXPAYERS (YOU) ARE NOW ON THE HOOK FOR $36,215,806,064,740.36 AS OF 6/27/25

The “Byrd Bath” is a process during the budget reconciliation process in which the Senate parliamentarian, a non-partisan, unelected official tasked with advising on Senate policy, combs through the bill for whether it adheres to the strict budgetary guidelines of the reconciliation process.

Republicans are using the budget reconciliation process to advance Trump’s agenda on taxes, the border, energy, defense, and the debt limit via one massive piece of legislation.

Budget reconciliation allows Republicans to bypass any Democratic opposition to pass their bill by lowering the Senate’s threshold for passage from 60 votes to 51.

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They’re aiming to have a bill on Trump’s desk by the Fourth of July.

A GOP aide told Fox News Digital, “The Senate version contains more in Byrd-compliant savings than the House, and correctly scores extending current tax policy as revenue-neutral — and assumes the kind of growth that was also massively underestimated last time around.”

The aide noted that the White House Council of Economic Advisers said the bill will generate $4.1 trillion in economic growth thanks to tax permanence, which is more than the House version.

Senate Republicans argue the bill would lead to $1.6 trillion in spending cuts over 10 years — above the House Freedom Caucus’ demanded $1.5 trillion threshold.

The Trump administration is working on a way to allow farmers and the hospitality industry to have a “temporary pass” to avoid a negative impact from Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations, he said on “Sunday Morning Futures.”

“I don’t back away. What I do have, I cherish our farmers,” the president said when asked by host Maria Bartiromo about the issue. “And when we go into a farm and we take away people that have been working there for 15 and 20 years, who were good, who possibly came in incorrectly. And what we’re going to do is we’re going to do something for farmers where we can let the farmer sort of be in charge. The farmer knows he’s not going to hire a murderer.”

“But you know, when you go into a farm and you set somebody working with them for nine years doing this kind of work, which is hard work to do and a lot of people aren’t going to do it, and you end up destroying a farmer because you took all the people away,” he said.

TRUMP DIRECTS ICE TO EXPAND DEPORTATION EFFORTS IN AMERICA’S LARGEST CITIES

“It’s a problem. You know, I’m on both sides of the thing. I’m the strongest immigration guy that there’s ever been, but I’m also the strongest farmer guy that there’s ever been, and that includes also hotels and, you know, places where people work, a certain group of people work,” the president added.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE

“We’re working on it right now. We’re going to work it so that, some kind of a temporary pass, where people pay taxes, where the farmer can have a little control as opposed to you walk in and take everybody away,” he continued, emphasizing that “criminals are going out of this country.”

On June 12, the president made similar comments about hotels and farms potentially running into issues as the result of federal immigration enforcement.

SEN CHUCK GRASSLEY: HOW SENATE REPUBLICANS ARE RESTORING RULE OF LAW AND SECURING BORDER FOR YEARS TO COME

“Our great Farmers and people in the Hotel and Leisure business have been stating that our very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, long time workers away from them, with those jobs being almost impossible to replace,” Trump posted to Truth Social.

“In many cases the Criminals allowed into our Country by the VERY Stupid Biden Open Borders Policy are applying for those jobs. This is not good. We must protect our Farmers, but get the CRIMINALS OUT OF THE USA. Changes are coming!”

On June 19, border czar Tom Homan signaled that those operations would still continue, but it’s not a major focus.

ICE DEPORTATION EFFORTS COULD BE DERAILED IF CONGRESS DOESN’T ACT SOON

“The message is clear that we’re going to continue to do worksite enforcement operations – even on farms and hotels but based on a prioritized basis. Criminals come first,” Homan said, according to Axios.

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ICE and DHS referred to the White House, and the White House deferred to the president’s remarks when Fox News Digital reached out. The comments from the president come as the administration aims to ramp up deportation efforts, whether it’s those with criminal charges and convictions or who entered the country illegally under the Biden administration. At the border itself, apprehensions and gotaway figures have taken a nosedive since Trump took office.

DHS is also encouraging those without a criminal history to self-deport by offering $1,000 and free travel outside the United States. ICE operations have been the subject of protests and even riots, including in Los Angeles. 

President Donald Trump will head to Florida Tuesday for the official opening of an immigration detention camp in the Everglades that is surrounded by alligators and aptly dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday. 

“We have the president of the United States coming down tomorrow to tout what Florida has done,” DeSantis said at a Monday news conference, according to the Miami Herald. 

“I think by tomorrow it will be open for business,” he added. 

DeSantis authorized the construction of an illegal immigrant detention center on a 30-square-mile property in the Everglades’ swamplands in Miami–Dade County under an emergency order. The property is a former airport that has been outfitted with sturdy tent structures to house 5,000 illegal immigrants amid the Trump administration’s deportation blitz to remove the millions of illegal migrants who flooded the nation under the Biden era. 

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

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

“This is an airport that’s already there,” DeSantis said Wednesday during an event with the media. “Clearly, from a security perspective, if someone escapes, you know, there are a lot of alligators you’re going to have to contend with. No one’s going anywhere once you do that. It’s a safe and secure as can be.” 

Environmentalists and Democrats have come out against the detention center, including by lining up along Highway 41, which runs through the Everglades, to protest its construction Saturday. Protesters held signs declaring, “Another stupid plan to abuse people & the Everglades,” “No Alligator Alcatraz” or signs demanding ICE is pushed “out of Florida,” photos show. 

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

Various federal and state agencies, such as the Department of Homeland Security and Florida’s Division of Emergency Management, were additionally hit with a lawsuit Friday spearheaded by a pair of environmentalist groups that claim the detention facility will disrupt and threaten the Everglades ecosystem, the Associated Press reported. 

“The state of Florida is all in on President Trump’s mission,” DeSantis said on a tour of the facility Friday on “Fox & Friends.” “There needs to be more ability to intake, process and deport.”

ICE ACCELERATING REMOVAL OPERATIONS BY ADDING 500 MORE BEDS IN FLORIDA JAIL

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem also endorsed the detention center as an ideal facility for “some of the worst scumbags” who illegally entered the U.S. under the Biden administration. 

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“Alligator Alcatraz, and other facilities like it, will give us the capability to lock up some of the worst scumbags who entered our country under the previous administration. I will continue to stand alongside our officers as they protect and defend our homeland. Make America Safe,” Noem posted to X Friday. 

A House GOP centrist from a key battleground district, Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., announced Monday that he will not seek re-election next year. 

“After 30 years in the Air Force and 10 years in Congress, it’s time to spend my future with the love of my life, our four kids, and our wonderful grandchildren. Thank you, Nebraska!” Bacon announced Monday. 

Bacon’s announcement comes as Congress works overtime to pass President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” by their self-imposed July 4 deadline. Through the reconciliation process, the megabill seeks to deliver on the president’s key campaign promises, including tax cuts, immigration reform and energy production. 

The moderate Republican has built a reputation for bucking Trump’s agenda in the House. While Bacon ultimately voted with his Republican colleagues to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill Act last month, the Nebraska Republican had concerns about the impact of proposed Medicaid cuts. 

THOM TILLIS ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT FROM SENATE AFTER CLASH WITH TRUMP

Bacon indicated earlier this month that he would vote against the White House’s rescission proposal if it cuts an AIDS relief program. Last month, he was the only Republican who voted against a House bill to make Trump’s name change for the Gulf of America permanent. Bacon, a loyal Ukraine supporter, has also criticized Trump’s position on its war with Russia. 

REPUBLICAN REP INDICATES HE’S ‘A NO’ ON TRUMP-BACKED RESCISSIONS MEASURE

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., announced Sunday he would also not seek re-election next year. Like Bacon, Tillis has been willing to buck Trump and the Republican Party on key issues, including the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Tillis was one of just two Republicans who voted against a procedural vote on the bill in the Senate this weekend. 

Bacon has represented Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District since 2017. He won re-election in 2024 by less than two percentage points. 

Former Vice President Kamala Harris won his district by almost five percentage points in 2024. Nebraska is one of just two states that splits its Electoral College votes in presidential elections by congressional district. 

Bacon’s congressional district was already a high-target House seat for Democrats ahead of the competitive 2026 midterm elections. 

“The writing has been on the wall for months,” Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) spokesperson Madison Andrus said on Friday. 

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“Nebraskans are tired of the false promises that Republicans are trying to sell, and they want real results. Don Bacon’s decision to not seek re-election in 2026 is the latest vote of no-confidence for House Republicans and their electoral prospects. Next November, Nebraskans are going to elect a Democrat who will actually deliver for them,” Andrus added. 

The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to take up a Republican-led challenge to U.S. campaign finance restrictions that limit the amount of money that political parties can spend on behalf of certain candidates— a case that could have major implications for the 2026 midterm elections.

The case, National Republican Senatorial Committee v. Federal Election Commission, was originally appealed to the court by the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), and on behalf of two Senate Republican candidates running for election in 2022— among them, now-Vice President J.D. Vance.

It centers on whether federal limits on campaign spending from political parties runs afoul of First Amendment protections, including free speech, under the U.S. Constitution.

CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS SOUNDS ALARM ON DANGEROUS RHETORIC AIMED AT JUDGES FROM POLITICIANS

The case comes as federal election spending has reached record highs. Presidential candidates in 2024 raised at least $2 billion and spent roughly $1.8 billion in 2024, according to FEC figures.

Oral arguments will be held in the fall.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP 

This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., denounced President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” just hours after making the surprise announcement that he would not run for a third term in 2026. 

Tillis voted against a motion to proceed with the spending package on Saturday and then announced his retirement on Sunday, citing political polarization and a desire to spend more time with family.

He then took to the Senate floor later Sunday to warn that “Republicans are about to make a mistake on healthcare and betraying a promise” on Medicaid should the package clear the upper chamber. 

TRUMP REACTS TO TILLIS NOT SEEKING RE-ELECTION, SENDS WARNING TO ‘COST CUTTING REPUBLICANS’

“It is inescapable that this bill in its current form will betray the very promise that Donald J. Trump made in the Oval Office or in the Cabinet room when I was there with finance. He said, ‘We can go after waste, fraud and abuse’ on any programs,” Tillis said. “Now, those amateurs that are advising him, not Dr. Oz, I’m talking about White House healthcare experts, refuse to tell him that those instructions that were to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse, all of a sudden eliminates a government program that’s called the provider tax. We have morphed a legal construct that admittedly has been abused and should be eliminated into waste, fraud and abuse, money laundering. Read the code. Look how long it’s been there.”

“I’m telling the president that you have been misinformed,” Tillis said. “You supporting the Senate mark will hurt people who are eligible and qualified for Medicaid.”

“I love the work requirement. I love the other reforms in this bill. They are necessary, and I appreciate the leadership of the House for putting it in there,” Tillis said. “But what we’re doing, because we have a view of an artificial deadline on July 4, that means nothing but another date in time. We could take the time to get this right if we lay down the House mark of the Medicaid bill and fix it.” 

The two-term senator said he consulted with Republican experts in the state legislature, Democrats loyal to Gov. Josh Stein and an independent body from the hospitals’ association to gain insight on how the provider tax cuts would impact North Carolinians. In the best-case scenario, he said, the findings showed a $26 billion cut in federal support for Medicaid. Tillis said he presented the report to the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Dr. Mehmet Oz. 

“After three different attempts for them to discredit our estimates, the day before yesterday they admitted that we were right,” Tillis said. “They can’t find a hole in my estimate.”

SCOOP: HOUSE REPUBLICAN EYES BID FOR THOM TILLIS SENATE SEAT AFTER TRUMP ATTACK

“So what do I tell 663,000 people in two years or three years when President Trump breaks his promise by pushing them off of Medicaid because the funding is not there anymore, guys?” Tillis said. “I think the people in the White House, those advising the president are not telling him that the effect of this bill is to break a promise, and do you know the last time I saw a promise broken around healthcare? With respect to my friends on the other side of the aisle, it’s when somebody said, ‘If you like your healthcare, you could keep it, if you like your doctor, you could keep it.’ We found out that wasn’t true.” 

In promoting the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, from 2009 to 2010, former President Barack Obama repeatedly claimed, “If you like your healthcare plan, you can keep it. If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor.” Tillis argued that it was the failures of that package that led to him becoming the second Republican Speaker of the North Carolina House since the Civil War and later to his election to the U.S. Senate. 

Trump celebrated Tillis’ retirement announcement and issued a warning to other “cost-cutting Republicans.” 

“For all cost-cutting Republicans, of which I am one, REMEMBER, you still have to get reelected. Don’t go too crazy!” Trump wrote Sunday night. “We will make it all up, times 10, with GROWTH, more than ever before.” 

After his Senate speech, Tillis told reporters that he had told Trump that he “probably needed to start looking for a replacement.”

“I told him I want to help him,” Tillis said, according to Politico. “I hope that we get a good candidate that I can help and we can have a successful 2026.”

The senator told reporters Trump is “getting a lot of advice from people who have never governed and all they’ve done is written white papers.” He condemned “people from an ivory tower driving him into a box canyon.”

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In his retirement announcement, Tillis said that “it’s become increasingly evident that leaders who are willing to embrace bipartisanship, compromise, and demonstrate independent thinking are becoming an endangered species.” 

President Donald Trump‘s 24th week back in the Oval Office is set to focus on Republican lawmakers sprinting to meet a July 4 deadline to pass a massive piece of legislation that will advance the president’s agenda, while the White House simultaneously juggles ongoing talks related to conflict and tensions in the Middle East.

Trump’s 23rd week in office was one of his most consequential on the books after he ordered U.S. military strikes on a trio of nuclear facilities in Iran last Saturday evening that critics said threatened to pull the U.S. into another war. Instead, the strikes appear to have wiped out Iran’s burgeoning nuclear program that had the Middle East and nations worldwide on edge. It ended in a ceasefire between Iran and Israel as Trump took a victory lap for ending the “12 Day War.”

“This is a War that could have gone on for years, and destroyed the entire Middle East, but it didn’t, and never will! God bless Israel, God bless Iran, God bless the Middle East, God bless the United States of America, and GOD BLESS THE WORLD!” Trump posted to Truth Social last week.

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

‘One big, beautiful bill’ 

Republicans in Washington, D.C., are hyper-focused on passing the “one big, beautiful bill” this week, ahead of lawmakers’ July 4 deadline to land the legislation on Trump’s desk for his signature. The budget reconciliation bill, if passed, will advance Trump’s agenda on taxes, immigration, energy, defense and the national debt. The legislation is currently before the Senate. 

Senate Republicans successfully carried the legislation over a procedural hurdle late on Saturday in a 51-49 party-line vote after hours of negotiations. All Republicans voted in support of advancing the bill except for Sens. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and Rand Paul, R-Ky. Tillis announced on Sunday, after bucking Republican colleagues and the president, that he would not seek reelection in 2026.

SCHUMER TO FORCE SENATE READING OF TRUMP’S ENTIRE ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’

Following the procedural vote, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., required clerks on the Senate floor to read the entire 940-page Senate GOP’s version of Trump’s megabill as a delay tactic that stalled debate on the package by about 16 hours.

Senate lawmakers will hold 20 hours of debate that is evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans as the bill moves along ahead of the Friday deadline. Senate Democrats are expected to use all of their allotted time, while Senate Republicans will likely only use a portion of their hours.

“Tonight we saw a GREAT VICTORY in the Senate with the “GREAT, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL,” but, it wouldn’t have happened without the Fantastic Work of Senator Rick Scott, Senator Mike Lee, Senator Ron Johnson, and Senator Cynthia Lummis,” Trump posted to Truth Social overnight Saturday. 

GOP SENATOR CALLS FOR PARLIAMENTARIAN’S FIRING AFTER SERVING MEDICAID BLOW TO TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’

“They, along with all of the other Republican Patriots who voted for the Bill, are people who truly love our Country! As President of the USA, I am proud of them all, and look forward to working with them to GROW OUR ECONOMY, REDUCE WASTEFUL SPENDING, SECURE OUR BORDER, FIGHT FOR OUR MILITARY/VETS, ENSURE THAT OUR MEDICAID SYSTEM HELPS THOSE WHO TRULY NEED IT, PROTECT OUR SECOND AMENDMENT, AND SO MUCH MORE.” 

Ongoing discussions with Iran 

The White House is expected to hold ongoing talks with Iran this week after the U.S. successfully carried out military strikes on three nuclear facilities in the country last Saturday. 

“So Iran wants to meet. As you know, their sites were obliterated. Their very evil nuclear sites,” Trump told the media last week.

Details related to the reported discussions are vague, with Iran denying it is participating in ongoing talks, while the White House said the U.S. remains in close communication with Iranians and intermediaries.  

GRAHAM PUTS FORTH GROUND RULES FOR IRAN NEGOTIATIONS, SAYS ‘WE’RE IN TROUBLE’ UNTIL CERTAIN CHANGES MADE

“I spoke to our special envoy Witkoff at length this morning and I can assure all of you we continue to be in close communication with the Iranians and through our intermediaries as well, namely the Qataris, who have been an incredible ally and partner throughout this entire effort,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a briefing on Thursday. “And as I said, this administration is always focused on diplomacy and peace, and we want to ensure we can get to a place where Iran agrees to a non-enrichment civil nuclear program.

“The president wants peace. He always has, and right now we’re on a diplomatic path with Iran. The president and his team, namely special envoy Witkoff, continue to be in communication with the Iranians and especially our Gulf and Arab partners in the region to come to an agreement with Iran,” she added.

Trump announced on June 21 that the U.S. successfully carried out strikes on Iran in a Truth Social post that was not preceded by media leaks or speculation that an attack was imminent. The unexpected social media post was followed just hours later by a brief Trump address to the nation while flanked by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance. 

“A short time ago, the U.S. military carried out massive precision strikes on the three key nuclear facilities in the Iranian regime: Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan,” Trump said from the White House late on Saturday in an address to the nation regarding the strikes. “Everybody heard those names for years as they built this horribly destructive enterprise. Our objective was the destruction of Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity, and a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world’s No. 1 state sponsor of terror. Tonight, I can report to the world that the strikes were a spectacular military success.”

GRAHAM PUTS FORTH GROUND RULES FOR IRAN NEGOTIATIONS, SAYS ‘WE’RE IN TROUBLE’ UNTIL CERTAIN CHANGES MADE

The operation included the longest B-2 spirit bomber mission since 2001, the second-longest B-2 mission ever flown and the largest B-2 operational strike in U.S. history, Hegseth said. 

Operation Midnight Hammer followed Israel launching preemptive strikes on Iran on June 12 after months of attempted and stalled nuclear negotiations and subsequent heightened concern that Iran was advancing its nuclear program.

Trump floats ceasefire in Gaza 

While celebrating the ceasefire between Israel and Iran, as well as a separate U.S.-brokered peace deal between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo on Friday, Trump predicted a potential ceasefire in Gaza as the war between Hamas and Israel continues since 2023. 

Trump called the situation in Gaza “terrible” while speaking to the media from the Oval Office on Friday, but expressed optimism there could soon be a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. 

“I think it’s close. I just spoke with some of the people involved,” said the president, adding, “We think within the next week we’re going to get a ceasefire.” 

TERROR IN GAZA: HAMAS OFFERS BOUNTIES TO KILL US AND LOCAL AID WORKERS, GROUP SAYS

Trump also addressed the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, saying, “We’re supplying, as you know, a lot of money and a lot of food to that area because we have to. I mean, you have to. In theory, we’re not involved in it, but we’re involved because people are dying.”

“MAKE THE DEAL IN GAZA. GET THE HOSTAGES BACK!!! DJT,” Trump posted to Truth Social early on Sunday as he posted other messages related to the Big Beautiful Bill. 

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Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer is expected to travel to Washington, D.C., this week to meet with U.S. counterparts to discuss a ceasefire deal, The Associated Press reported. 

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

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., acknowledged on Sunday that he has not yet endorsed Zohran Mamdani for mayor of New York City, and faced questioning as to why he has yet to back the progressive candidate in his home city.

Jeffries made his remarks to Jonathan Karl on ABC’s “This Week,” adding that he did speak with Mamdani on Wednesday to congratulate him on the campaign “that clearly was relentlessly focused on the high cost of living in New York City and the economy.”

When asked what is holding him back from endorsing the mayoral candidate, the House minority leader said he and Mamdani “don’t really know each other well.”

“Our districts don’t overlap. I have never had a substantive conversation with him,” noting that it is “the next step in terms of this process.”

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

Jeffries did say that the two of them have agreed to sit down soon “in central Brooklyn.”

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

Mamdani has faced controversy over a number of his statements and positions. The democratic socilalist’s website includes a housing policy document that states that if he were elected, his administration would “shift the tax burden from overtaxed homeowners in the outer boroughs to more expensive homes in richer and Whiter neighborhoods.”

He has also faced scrutiny for anti-Israel positions, such as support for the “Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions” movement targeting the Jewish state. He has also stated that, if elected mayor, he would have Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrested if he visits the city.

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Despite this, Mamdani came out on top in last week’s Democratic mayoral primary, defeating rivals such as former Gov. Andrew Cuomo. In the general election, he is slated to face Republican Curtis Sliwa and incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who is running as an Independent.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., says it is “too early to tell” whether Iran has given up on its ambitions to become a nuclear power on Sunday.

Graham made the statement during a Sunday morning appearance on ABC’s “This Week,” saying he agrees that the sites the U.S. struck were “obliterated,” but he remains concerned about Iran’s uranium supply.

“Operation Midnight Hammer was a tremendous military success. It set the program back, I think, a couple years. But the question for the world is: Does the regime still desire to make a nuclear weapon? The answer is yes. Do they still desire to destroy Israel and come after us? The answer is yes.”

“Until that changes, we’re in trouble,” he continued, adding that he believes Iran must meet certain requirements before President Donald Trump’s administration agrees to talk with them.

EX-CLINTON OFFICIAL APPLAUDS TRUMP’S ‘COURAGEOUS’ IRAN CALL, DOUBTS HARRIS WOULD’VE HAD THE NERVE

“They have to say, for the first time, the Iranian regime, we recognize Israel’s right to exist,” Graham said. “If they can’t say that, then you’re never gonna get a deal worth a damn.

TRUMP SLAMS RUSSIA’S CASUAL THREAT TO ARM IRAN WITH NUCLEAR WEAPONS: ‘THAT’S WHY PUTIN’S THE BOSS’

Trump said on Friday that he is open to conducting additional strikes against Iran, should Tehran pick up its nuclear program again to a level that is concerning to the U.S.

“Sure. Without question, absolutely,” Trump told reporters Friday when asked about the possibility of subsequent strikes. 

RUSSIAN LEADER CLAIMS MULTIPLE COUNTRIES PREPPED TO PROVIDE IRAN NUCLEAR WEAPONS FOLLOWING US STRIKES

Trump has previously issued similar warnings to Iran, and said Wednesday at the NATO Summit in the Netherlands that if Tehran were to seek to repair its nuclear program once more, the U.S. would not hesitate to move forward with additional strikes.

Trump also slammed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who declared victory over Israel on Thursday. Trump countered Khamenei’s claims and said he spared the ayatollah from death. 

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“I knew EXACTLY where he was sheltered, and would not let Israel, or the U.S. Armed Forces, by far the Greatest and Most Powerful in the World, terminate his life,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Friday. “I SAVED HIM FROM A VERY UGLY AND IGNOMINIOUS DEATH, and he does not have to say, ‘THANK YOU, PRESIDENT TRUMP!’”

Fox News’ Diana Stancy contributed to this report

Nearly all the universal injunctions blocking President Donald Trump‘s agenda were issued by just five of the nation’s 94 federal district courts, a statistic that the administration said lays bare the Left’s strategy of lawfare.

Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi spoke at a news conference Friday just after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 6-3 decision that district judges, the lowest-level jurists in the federal system, cannot impose nationwide injunctions. Bondi noted that out of 40 nationwide injunctions issued since Trump retook the White House, 35 came out of five districts perceived as liberal.

“Active liberal… judges have used these injunctions to block virtually all of President Trump’s policies,” Bondi said. “No longer. No longer.”

Nationwide injunctions are court orders that prevent the federal government from implementing a policy or law. They have a cascading effect impacting the entire country, not just the parties involved in the court case, and have been used against the Trump administration at a vastly higher rate than previous administrations. 

SUPREME COURT POISED TO MAKE MAJOR DECISION THAT COULD SET LIMITS ON THE POWER OF DISTRICT JUDGES

Trump’s first administration faced 64 injunctions out of the total 127 nationwide injunctions issued since 1963, Fox News Digital previously reported. There were 32 injunctions issued against the Bush, Obama and Biden administrations collectively since 2001, meaning the first Trump administration was on the receiving end of double the amount of nationwide injunctions than his two predecessors and successor combined, according to an April 2024 edition of the Harvard Law Review. 

Bondi pointed to the five district courts – Maryland, Washington, D.C., Massachusetts, California and Washington state – calling it “crazy” that such an overwhelming number of nationwide injunctions originated in those jurisdictions. Conservatives have accused the Left of bringing their cases in liberal judicial districts stocked with Democratic-appointed judges.

Fox News Digital looked at the five district courts and how judges in them have issued sweeping injunctions that have hampered Trump’s federal policies. 

SUPREME COURT TO DEBATE TRUMP RESTRICTIONS ON BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP AND ENFORCEMENT OF NATIONWIDE INJUNCTIONS

U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland

The Supreme Court agreed this year to take up three consolidated cases involving nationwide injunctions handed down by federal district judges in Maryland, Massachusetts and Washington state related to Trump’s birthright citizenship executive order. 

The U.S. District Court for Maryland was one of the courts nationwide that issued an injunction against Trump’s January executive order to end the practice of granting birthright citizenship to the children of illegal immigrants. Maryland U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman issued the injunction in February following a lawsuit brought by five pregnant illegal immigrant women in the state, which was followed by other district judges in Washington state and Massachusetts ordering injunctions of their own. 

The Maryland district court also issued a separate preliminary injunction against the Trump administration’s executive orders ending federal support for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs in February. 

The court recently came under fire from the Trump administration when the Department of Justice filed lawsuits against each of the 15 federal judges on the Maryland federal bench earlier this month for automatically issuing injunctions for certain immigration cases. The injunctions have prevented the Department of Homeland Security from deporting or changing the legal status of the immigrant in question for two business days.

JONATHAN TURLEY: SUPREME COURT COULD SOON GIVE TRUMP ‘ENORMOUS’ VICTORY IN BATTLE WITH LEFT-WING JUDGES

“President Trump’s executive authority has been undermined since the first hours of his presidency by an endless barrage of injunctions designed to halt his agenda,” Bondi said in a press release of the state’s automatic injunction practices.  “The American people elected President Trump to carry out his policy agenda: this pattern of judicial overreach undermines the democratic process and cannot be allowed to stand.”

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

Judges on the bench for the Northern District of California have issued at least six significant injunctions hampering policies put forth by the Trump administration this year. The Northern California district court includes counties such as San Francisco, Sonoma and Santa Clara. 

Back in March, Judge William Alsup, for example, granted a preliminary injunction ordering federal agencies to reinstate probationary employees fired under the Trump administration’s efforts to slim down the size of the federal government. Judge Susan Illston granted a temporary pause in May to the Trump administration’s federal reductions in force initiatives, and Judge William Orrick granted a separate injunction in April that prevented the Trump administration from withholding federal funds from areas deemed sanctuaries for illegal immigrants. 

SCOTUS RULES ON TRUMP’S BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP ORDER, TESTING LOWER COURT POWERS

Federal judges on the Northern California bench also issued injunctions to block the enforcement of Trump administration polices related to organizations that promote DEI and LGBTQ programs and to prevent the administration from terminating the legal visa status of international students. 

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has issued at least six signigicant injunctions against the Trump administration this year, including Judge James Boasberg’s March injunction preventing the Trump administration from deporting violent illegal immigrant gang members under the Alien Enemies Act – which received widespread backlash among conservatives.  

“People are shocked by what is going on with the Court System. I was elected for many reasons, but a principal one was LAW AND ORDER, a big part of which is QUICKLY removing a vast Criminal Network of individuals, who came into our Country through the Crooked Joe Biden Open Borders Policy! These are dangerous and violent people, who kill, maim and, in many other ways, harm the people of our Country,” Trump posted to Truth Social in March following Boasberg extending his restraining order against the use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport illegal immigrants with alleged ties to gangs, such as Venezuelan criminal organization Tren de Aragua (TdA).

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

Federal Judge Loren AliKhan issued a preliminary injunction in January barring the Trump administration’s freeze on federal grant disbursements through various federal agencies; Judge Paul Friedman blocked the Trump administration from targeting foreign service workers’ collective bargaining rights in May; and Judge Ana Reyes granted a nationwide injunction in March barring the Pentagon from enforcing Trump’s executive order banning transgender individuals from serving in the U.S. military. 

Judges on the court have also issued injunctions targeting the Trump administration’s plans to dismantle the federally-funded state media network Voice of America, and another that blocked the Bureau of Prisons from implementing a Trump executive order restricting transgender healthcare and accommodations for federal inmates. 

U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts

The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts has issued at least four significant injunctions against the Trump administration this year, including the nationwide preliminary injunction barring Trump’s executive order ending the practice of granting birthright citizenship to the children of illegal immigrants. 

JOHN YOO: TRUMP SCORES HISTORIC WIN AS SUPREME COURT REINS IN LOWER COURTS’ OVERREACH

Other injunctions issued this year include Judge Julia Kobick this month blocked Trump’s presidential action requiring passports to reflect a person’s biological sex and not their gender identity, and another that involved the Trump administration’s efforts to end a Biden-era parole program for hundreds of thousands of migrants from Afghanistan, Latin America and Ukraine.

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington

Ahead of the Supreme Court’s ruling limiting the scope of nationwide injunctions, judges on the District Court for the Western District of Washington issued a handful of injunctions targeting Trump policies, including joining courts in Maryland and Massachusetts earlier this year blocking Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship for children of illegal immigrants. 

Judge Jamal Whitehead issued a preliminary injunction in February halting Trump’s January executive order suspending the U.S. Refugee Assistance Program. While another federal judge on the bench in March granted a nationwide preliminary injunction blocking Trump’s executive order barring transgender individuals from serving in the military.

The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington includes counties such as King – home to Seattle – Snohomish and Clark. The two courts for the Western District of Washington and the Northern District of California are both in the 9th Circuit. 

NUMBER OF INJUNCTIONS HALTING TRUMP POLICIES TROUNCES PREDECESSORS BY DOUBLE

Trump celebrated the Supreme Court’s ruling restricting the scope of federal judges’ powers to grant nationwide injunctions as “a monumental victory for the Constitution.”

“The Supreme Court has delivered a monumental victory for the Constitution, the separation of powers, and the rule of law in striking down the excessive use of nationwide injunctions… I was elected on a historic mandate, but in recent months, we’ve seen a handful of radical left judges effectively try to overrule the rightful powers of the president to stop the American people from getting the policies that they voted for in record numbers. It was a grave threat to democracy,” Trump said on Friday. 

TRUMP ASKS SUPREME COURT TO REVIEW BAN ON BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP

SCOTUS’ ruling followed the Trump administration filing an emergency appeal with the highest court in March, when the then-acting solicitor general, Sarah Harris, sounded the alarm that nationwide injunctions had hit “epidemic proportions” under the second Trump administration. She noted that the federal government faced 14 universal injunctions in the first three years of the Biden administration, compared to 15 leveled against the Trump admin in one month alone. 

Universal injunctions were also a sticking point for officials in the first Trump administration, who railed against the flow of injunctions ordered against the 45th president’s policies and laws, including the former chiefs of the Department of Justice. 

“Courts issued an average of only 1.5 nationwide injunctions per year against the Reagan, Clinton and George W. Bush administrations, and 2.5 per year against the Obama administration,” former Assistant Attorney General Beth Williams said in February 2019.  

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“In President Trump’s first year in office, however, judges issued a whopping 20 nationwide injunctions – an eight-fold increase. This matches the entire eight-year total of such injunctions issued against President Obama during his two terms. We are now at 30, matching the total number of injunctions issued against the first 42 presidents combined.”

Fox News Digital’s Andrew Mark Miller, Breanne Deppisch and Ashley Oliver contributed to this report. 

An unelected Senate parliamentarian should not be deciding what stays and what doesn’t in the so-called “Big, Beautiful Bill,” Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., told Fox News Channel in an interview that earned President Trump’s approval.

Conservatives were furious on Thursday morning after learning Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough ruled several key reforms and tweaks to Medicaid in the Senate GOP’s version of President Trump’s bill did not pass muster with Senate Rules. One senator, Roger Marshall, of Kansas, called for MacDonough to be replaced.

Steube was a guest on FOX Report on Sunday morning, when host Jon Scott asked him where he stood on whether the parliamentarian should have been overruled or even fired. He agreed with Marshall.

GOP SENATOR CALLS FOR PARLIAMENTARIAN’S FIRING AFTER SERVING MEDICAID BLOW TO TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’

“Yeah, I had called for her to be fired,” Steube said. “I don’t think that one person who’s unelected, who got appointed over a decade ago, should be the one deciding what stays in and what doesn’t.”

Lawmakers across the U.S. were elected by their constituents to make those decisions; not the parliamentarians, he said.

At the moment, Republicans hold majorities in the House and the Senate. MacDonough was appointed by the late Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who was a Democrat.

FURY ERUPTS AS UNELECTED SENATE ‘SCOREKEEPER’ BLOCKS TRUMP’S AGENDA

Steube questioned why current Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., would not replace MacDonough with a Republican appointee.

“We’ve certainly called for that,” Steube said. “Thune has said he’s not going to do that, so they’re going to move forward.”

Scott noted that MacDonough has said she is supposed to be call balls and strikes, not make political decisions. When Scott asked Steube if he thought MacDonough was working for the Democrats, the lawmaker noted she was appointed by one.

SEVERAL PROVISIONS FAIL TO PASS MUSTER WITH SENATE RULES IN ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’

“What House lawmakers that have been elected by the people passed by a majority of the House of Representatives and sent over to the Senate are now getting struck by one person who was appointed by Harry Reid,” Steube said. “I certainly don’t think that’s what the American people voted for.

Trump later posted about Steube’s interview on Truth Social.

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“Great Congressman Greg Steube is 100% correct,” the president wrote. “An unelected Senate Staffer (Parliamentarian), should not be allowed to hurt the Republicans Bill. Wants many fantastic things out. NO!”

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

Senate Democrats’ delay tactic has finally come to a close, but Senate Republicans are still a ways out from voting on President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., forced clerks on the Senate floor to read aloud the entirety of the Senate GOP’s version of Trump’s megabill on Saturday. In all, reading the 940-page legislative behemoth bled well into Sunday and took nearly 16 hours.

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

Schumer announced that he would be forcing the clerks to read the bill ahead of the ultimately successful, albeit drama-filled, procedural vote. And after forcing the reading of the bill, he said on X, “Republicans are squirming.”

“I know damn well they haven’t read the bill, so we’re going to make them,” he said.

It’s an oft-unused strategy Schumer and Senate Democrats deployed as part of the pain campaign against Republicans, who have iced them out from having input on the president’s agenda.

SCHUMER FORCES READING OF TRUMP’S ENTIRE ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ AS SENATE BRACES FOR ALL-NIGHTER

The last time Senate clerks were forced to read the entirety of a bill on the floor was in 2021, when Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., similarly objected and demanded that former President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Act be read aloud.

Now with the reading dispensed, lawmakers will trudge onward with 20 hours of debate evenly divided between both Democrats and Republicans. Senate Democrats are expected to squeeze every second from their allotted time, while Senate Republicans will likely only use a couple of hours at most.

That time on the GOP side will be used by those already critical of the bill, like Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. While his support for final passage is unlikely, he is not the only headache that Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., may have to worry about.

KEY GOP SENATOR DEFECTS ON CRUCIAL VOTE, IMPERILING TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ IN NARROW MAJORITY

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., is unlikely to change his mind and vote for final passage – despite Trump bashing him on social media and threatening a primary challenger – unless substantial changes are made to the Medicaid adjustments in the bill.

Tillis further steeled his resolve against the bill when he announced his retirement from Washington at the end of his term, opting against a likely grueling primary battle. 

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who supported the legislation through the first test, also wants to see real changes to the Medicaid provider tax rate.

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Then there are the fiscal hawks who held the vote hostage on Saturday night as they negotiated with Thune, with the help of Vice President JD Vance, to get an amendment to make changes to the federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP), which is the amount that the federal government pays for Medicaid to each state.

Changes to FMAP are not popular among most Senate Republicans, save for fiscal hawks looking for steeper cuts in the colossal bill. 

Former Senator Jeff Flake, one of President Donald Trump’s most vocal critics during his first administration, reacted to Sen. Thom Tillis’ retirement plans on Sunday.

Tillis, who was one of the most vulnerable Republicans in the 2026 cycle, had faced threats from Trump to endorse a challenger after Tillis voted against the president’s “big, beautiful bill,” on Saturday night.

In an X post, Flake speculated that Tillis could have won re-election, but only if he took certain positions.

“He could win again, but only by taking positions he doesn’t believe in,” Flake, who served as U.S. ambassador to Turkey during the Biden administration, said.

TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ FACES REPUBLICAN FAMILY FEUD AS SENATE REVEALS ITS FINAL TEXT

“It’s an honor to serve in the Senate — but not at any cost,” he added.

Tillis said on Sunday that he plans to retire at the end of his term in 2026. In a statement, the North Carolina Republican referenced “the greatest form of hypocrisy in American politics.”

“When people see independent thinking on the other side, they cheer,” Tillis said. “But when those very same people see independent thinking coming from their side, they scorn, ostracize, and even censure.”

“In Washington over the last few years, it’s become increasingly evident that leaders who are willing to embrace bipartisanship, compromise, and demonstrate independent thinking are becoming an endangered species,” he added.

Tillis added that the choice broke down to either spending time with his family or navigating “the political theater and partisan gridlock,” in Washington, D.C.

“It’s not a hard choice, and I will not be seeking re-election,” he said.

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

Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., also reacted to Tillis’ announcement with a criticism of Trump.

“I do not agree with N.C. Senator Thom Tillis on much. But he’s right on this,” Sanders’ post began.

He added, “Trump’s Republican Party does not allow for independent thought. The Republican Party today is a cult. Either you do as Trump wants, or you’re out. Pathetic.”

On Saturday evening, Trump blasted Tillis as a “grandstander” and expressed interest in interviewing potential primary challengers.

“Numerous people have come forward wanting to run in the Primary against ‘Senator Thom’ Tillis,” Trump said on Truth Social. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP 

“I will be meeting with them over the coming weeks, looking for someone who will properly represent the Great People of North Carolina and, so importantly, the United States of America. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” he added.

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

President Donald Trump celebrated the retirement announcement of one of the two Republicans who voted against advancing his “big, beautiful bill.” 

“Great News! ‘Senator’ Thom Tillis will not be seeking reelection,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

“For all cost-cutting Republicans, of which I am one, REMEMBER, you still have to get reelected. Don’t go too crazy! We will make it all up, times 10, with GROWTH, more than ever before,” he continued in a separate post.

The North Carolina Republican announced on Sunday that he would not seek re-election in the 2026 cycle. Tillis would have been among the most vulnerable Republicans running next year. He faced threats from Trump to face a challenger after his vote against the president’s agenda Saturday night.

SCOOP: HOUSE REPUBLICAN EYES BID FOR THOM TILLIS SENATE SEAT AFTER TRUMP ATTACK

The lawmaker voted against advancing the bill and is likely to vote against final passage, because deep Medicaid cuts inside the colossal bill brought on changes to the Medicaid provider tax rate.

THOM TILLIS ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT FROM SENATE AFTER CLASH WITH TRUMP

Tillis railed against the slow death of bipartisanship in Washington in a statement.

“In Washington over the last few years, it’s become increasingly evident that leaders who are willing to embrace bipartisanship, compromise, and demonstrate independent thinking are becoming an endangered species,” he said.

TRUMP THREATENS TO SUPPORT A PRIMARY CHALLENGER AGAINST GOP SENATOR FOR OPPOSING ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’

His announcement also comes after Trump spent much of Saturday evening blasting Tillis as a “grandstander” and vowing to interview potential primary challengers, while Vice President JD Vance, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and his leadership team worked over holdout fiscal hawks.

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“Numerous people have come forward wanting to run in the Primary against ‘Senator Thom’ Tillis,” Trump said on Truth Social. “I will be meeting with them over the coming weeks, looking for someone who will properly represent the Great People of North Carolina and, so importantly, the United States of America. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

Stepheny Price is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. She covers topics including missing persons, homicides, national crime cases, illegal immigration, and more. Story tips and ideas can be sent to stepheny.price@fox.com

Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee preemptively withdrew a provision in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act on Saturday evening that would have allowed for the sale of federal lands for development after widespread outrage among his conservative colleagues.

“Over the past several weeks, I’ve spent a lot of time listening to members of the community, local leaders, and stakeholders across the country. While there has been a tremendous amount of misinformation – and in some cases, outright lies – about my bill, many people brought forward sincere concerns,” Lee said in a message posted to his X account on Saturday evening. 

Lee, who chairs the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said he pulled the provision after he failed to secure “safeguards to guarantee that these lands would be sold only to American families,” and not to China or corporations. The Senate parliamentarian ruled on Monday that the provision’s original language did not comply with strict rules related to what could be included in reconciliation legislation, with Lee’s office resubmitting the provision with new language before pulling it altogether on Saturday evening. 

Lee said he maintains his long-held position that the U.S. government owns too much land that is often mismanaged and leaves Americans, most notably in Western states, with higher tax burdens. 

HOUSE GOP LEADERSHIP TAKES VICTORY LAP AFTER PASSING TRUMP’S ‘ONE BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’

“I continue to believe the federal government owns far too much land – land it is mismanaging and in many cases ruining for the next generation,” Lee wrote in his post. “Under Democratic presidents, massive swaths of the West are being locked away from the people who live there, with no meaningful recourse.”

Lee had included a mandate for sales of millions of acres of federal lands in a draft provision of the tax cut package earlier this month. He preemptively pulled the provision on Saturday ahead of a procedural vote, as a handful of Republican lawmakers in both chambers publicly denounced the provision and said they would vote against the bill if it was included. 

“We’ve got the votes to strike it,” Montana Sen. Steve Daines said Thursday of Lee’s provision. “We’re ready.”

SENATE GOP AIMS TO APPROVE MAJOR LEGISLATION NEXT WEEK AS TRUMP TOUTS PARTY UNITY

“I agree with my colleagues that the federal government has mismanaged federal lands for decades. But I don’t agree with their solution. The solution is not to sell public lands. The solution is better management. Let’s send legislation to POTUS desk to improve management and access. I remain a no on the senate reconciliation bill,” Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke posted to X last week ahead of Lee pulling the provision. Zinke served as President Donald Trump‘s secretary of the Department of the Interior during his first administration. 

“The people of Idaho have been clear – we do NOT support the sale of our public lands to the highest bidder. I am proud to help lead the effort to remove this provision from the One Big Beautiful Bill,” Idaho Republican Sen. Jim Risch posted to X after Lee said he would pull the provision. 

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

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Lawmakers are on a tight 4th of July deadline to get the legislation, which will advance Trump’s agenda on taxes, immigration, energy, defense and the national debt, to the president’s desk. Senate Republicans successfully carried the legislation over a procedural hurdle late on Saturday after hours of negotiations. 

Fox News Digital’s Alex Miller and Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report. 

FIRST ON FOX: A first-term House Republican and military veteran is eyeing a bid for Sen. Thom Tillis’ North Carolina Senate seat after the GOP lawmaker announced he would not run for re-election, a source close to the congressman told Fox News Digital.

Rep. Pat Harrigan, R-N.C., a former Army Special Forces Officer who was deployed to Afghanistan, was elected to represent North Carolina’s 10th congressional district in November 2024.

It comes after President Donald Trump pledged to find a primary challenger for Tillis over the senator’s decision to vote “no” on a key procedural hurdle to advance the commander-in-chief’s “big, beautiful bill.”

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

Harrigan was elected to replace former House Financial Services Committee Chairman Patrick McHenry, R-N.C.

He’s among the first to express interest in Tillis’ seat in what could shape up into a crowded Republican primary race ahead of the 2026 midterms.

Rep. Tim Moore, R-N.C., another first-term House Republican, is also considering a bid for Tillis’ Senate seat, a source familiar with his plans told Fox News Digital.

Moore is the former speaker of the North Carolina state House of Representatives.

Tillis revealed he would not run for re-election in a bombshell statement on Sunday afternoon, criticizing the current political environment.

“Too many elected officials are motivated by pure raw politics who really don’t give a damn about the people they promised to represent on the campaign trail. After they get elected, they don’t bother to do the hard work to research the policies they seek to implement and understand the consequences those policies could have on that young adult living in a trailer park, struggling to make ends meet,” Tillis said.

“As many of my colleagues have noticed over the last year, and at times even joked about, I haven’t exactly been excited about running for another term. That is true since the choice is between spending another six years navigating the political theatre and partisan gridlock in Washington or spending that time with the love of my life Susan, our two children, three beautiful grandchildren, and the rest of our extended family back home.”

The statement came on the second continuous day that senators are wrestling with the “one big, beautiful bill,” a vast piece of legislation advancing Trump’s agenda on tax, immigration, energy, defense, and the national debt.

TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ FACES REPUBLICAN FAMILY FEUD AS SENATE REVEALS ITS FINAL TEXT

Tillis said he had objections to the bill’s spending cuts targeting Medicaid, arguing they would be damaging to rural communities and hospitals in North Carolina.

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The senate voted 51-49 to begin debate on the legislation late on Saturday. Tillis and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., were the only two Republicans to vote “no.”

Trump posted on Saturday, “Numerous people have come forward wanting to run in the primary against ‘Senator Thom’ Tillis. I will be meeting with them over the coming weeks, looking for someone who will properly represent the Great People of North Carolina and, so importantly, the United States of America. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”