NationalWatch

Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich lambasted his Democratic Party as an unethical organization that collectively bolstered a “coma” patient over other contenders in order to advance their own political ends, and that they feature a “Hall of Fame for Liars” headlined by Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.

Asked by Fox News’ Jesse Watters about his response to characterizations that Democrats preferred to cover-up former President Joe Biden’s infirmities rather than move on from him or accept President Donald Trump, Blagojevich said, “I’d say that guy hates the American people and hates his constituents and hates even Democratic voters.”

“Shouldn’t we all wish good things for our country? Isn’t it right to hope that a president, even the one from the other party, can succeed to do good things for his country and good things for people?”

Blagojevich said that proves Democrats “don’t care about America,” and quoted Tennessee Williams’ line that “the only thing worse than a liar is a liar that’s also a hypocrite.”

ADAM SCHIFF TELLS EPA’S ZELDIN HE’LL CAUSE CANCER, AFTER SHELDON WHITEHOUSE SHOUTFEST

“If they have any sense of patriotism… they ought to try to … atone for their sins…”

Blagojevich said Democrats could have used the 25th Amendment to oust Biden and keep a Democrat in the White House; then-Vice President Kamala Harris; but instead believed, “maybe we’re better off with a brain-dead Biden as president than her.”

“They’d rather have a comatose Biden than Kamala Harris,” Watters quipped in return.

Blagojevich added that by contrast, Trump has been lied about in regard to Russian collusion and the Stormy Daniels affair, and that it should be Democrats considered the bigger mistruth-tellers.

“Nobody who has any common sense could believe anything they say,” he said.

KASH PATEL ENRAGES ADAM SCHIFF IN CLINTONIAN BATTLE OVER THE WORD ‘WE’, AND A JANUARY 6 SONG

“And the king of the Democratic liars is Adam Schiff. If there was a Hall of Fame for liars, like, let’s say, a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Adam Schiff would be Elvis.”

Blagojevich, imprisoned following his 2008 ejection from office by the Illinois State Senate on claims he tried to “sell” then-Sen. Barack Obama’s seat, saw his federal sentence commuted by Trump after eight years served.

The former governor has long maintained his innocence – previously telling Fox News he never tried to sell what became then-Sen. Roland Burris’, D-Ill., seat, and instead was a victim of malicious prosecution grounded in politics over proof.

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He has compared his prosecution to Trump’s own legal issues, as both men alleged politicized proceedings from U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald and New York State Attorney General Letitia James, respectively.

“I know what they did to me, and I do know they did the same thing to Trump,” he told FOX-32 in February.

The White House is expected to send a federal spending cut proposal to Congress next week, two Republican sources told Fox News Digital on Wednesday.

It’s the latest move by Republican officials to make good on promises to slash government spending, a project spearheaded by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

The proposal is called a “rescissions package,” a vehicle for the president to block funds that were already allocated by Congress in its yearly appropriations process. Once transmitted to Capitol Hill, lawmakers have 45 days to take it up before it’s voided.

An Office of Management and Budget (OMB) official told Fox News Digital the package is expected to total roughly $9.4 billion.

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

It will primarily target federal funding to NPR, PBS, and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the official said, confirming details first reported by Axios.

A third GOP source told Fox News Digital that House GOP leaders had asked the White House to wait until their chamber finished consideration of Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” to send its spending-cut package.

The House passed the massive piece of tax-and-spending legislation last week after an all-night session of debate and procedural votes, sending it to the Senate for further consideration.

SCOOP: HOUSE GOP MEMO HIGHLIGHTS REPUBLICAN WINS IN TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’

That bill, which is being advanced under the budget reconciliation process, primarily deals with mandatory government funding that Congress must change by amending the law itself.

A rescissions package targets discretionary government funding, which Congress sets the levels of every year in its annual appropriations process.

The White House referred Fox News Digital to OMB when reached for comment.

The package is expected to get to Congress just as Musk is beginning to step away from his role leading DOGE – but is apparently still keeping a close eye on governmental affairs.

The billionaire tech founder criticized Republicans’ “big, beautiful bill” on CBS Sunday Morning, saying in a preview clip that he was “disappointed” by it.

“I think a bill can be big, or it could be beautiful. But I don’t know if it could be both,” Musk said.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., vowed the House would do more to codify DOGE cuts in a statement after Musk’s message.

“The House is eager and ready to act on DOGE’s findings so we can deliver even more cuts to big government that President Trump wants and the American people demand. We will do that in two ways,” Johnson wrote on X.

“1. When the White House sends its rescissions package to the House, we will act quickly by passing legislation to codify the cuts. 2. The House will use the appropriations process to swiftly implement President Trump’s 2026 budget. In the meantime, we have been working around the clock as we prepared for those processes. The House made sure to build on DOGE’s success within the One Big Beautiful Bill.”

Musk’s commentary, meanwhile, divided House Republicans on Wednesday.

“This is why Mr. Musk has no place in Congress. He wants to codify discretionary cuts. He didn’t find enough waste, fraud, and abuse to fund [the Small Business Administration], let alone reduce our debt,” one House GOP lawmaker granted anonymity to speak freely told Fox News Digital. “This was a gimmick, he got used, he’s now upset.”

Meanwhile, House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md., who voted “present” on the legislation last week, told Fox News Digital that he believed Musk was right.

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“I share Mr. Musk’s concerns about the short-term adverse effect on the federal deficit of the limited spending reductions in the BBB. Debt markets remain concerned about US total debt and annual deficits,” Harris said.

The House is expected to begin working on fiscal year (FY) 2026 appropriations next week, though the rescission package deals with FY 2025 funding.

And the 45-day deadline for that is not the only marker on the horizon – identical FY 2026 spending bills must pass the House and Senate by the end of the current fiscal year on Sept. 30 to avert a partial government shutdown.

A federal judge denied a request from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to reconsider his order calling for the Trump administration “to take all immediate steps” to return a Guatemalan deportee to the U.S. 

The decision by U.S. District Court Judge Brian Murphy in Massachusetts comes after he issued a ruling last week saying that the removal of the individual – identified only as O.C.G. – “lacked due process.”

“In general, this case presents no special facts or legal circumstances, only the banal horror of a man being wrongfully loaded onto a bus and sent back to a country where he was allegedly just raped and kidnapped,” Murphy wrote Friday.

“Defendants are hereby ORDERED to take all immediate steps, including coordinating with Plaintiffs’ counsel, to facilitate the return of O.C.G. to the United States,” he added. 

US JUDGE ACCUSES TRUMP ADMIN OF ‘MANUFACTURING CHAOS’ IN SOUTH SUDAN DEPORTATIONS, ESCALATING FEUD 

In the filing, Murphy described O.C.G. as a native and citizen of Guatemala who first entered the U.S. “without proper authorization” in March 2024.  

“O.C.G. alleges that he presented himself for asylum at the border and was denied an interview. In any event, he was deported shortly thereafter to Guatemala.  In April 2024, O.C.G. decided to try again and crossed Mexico on his way to the United States. There, he was raped and held hostage until a family member paid ransom,” the filing said.

READ THE JUDGE’S ORDER – APP USERS, CLICK HERE:

“In May 2024, O.C.G. again arrived at the United States and was arrested by Border Patrol. This time, however, he was referred to an asylum officer after expressing fear of return to Guatemala. That officer determined that O.C.G. had a credible fear of persecution or torture and initiated withholding-only proceedings, where an immigration judge agreed and determined that it was more likely than not that O.C.G. would be persecuted or tortured if sent back to Guatemala. Accordingly, O.C.G. was granted withholding of removal from Guatemala,” it continued. 

“Two days after being granted withholding of removal, and with no advanced warning, O.C.G. was put on a bus and sent to Mexico. According to O.C.G., he begged the officers to let him call his attorney but was refused,” according to the filing. 

NY AG, 19 OTHERS FILE 2 LAWSUITS AGAINST TRUMP ADMIN, ALLEGING FEDERAL MONEY TIED TO IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT 

“In Mexico, O.C.G. was given the option of being detained indefinitely while trying to obtain asylum there — a country where he has consistently maintained that he faces a significant risk of violence — or of being sent back to Guatemala — the very country from which an immigration judge awarded him withholding from removal due to the risk of persecution that he faced.  O.C.G. chose Guatemala. He remains there today,” Murphy said in the filing. 

“Just yesterday, O.C.G. submitted a declaration informing the Court of his current status. He reports living in constant fear of his attackers, being unable to leave the place where he is staying, not being able to rely on the police to protect him, and not being able to see his mother for fear of exposing her to violence, among other hardships,” Murphy also wrote. 

DHS said in response to the decision that “America’s asylum system was never intended to be used as a de facto amnesty program or a catch-all, get-out-of-deportation-free card.  

“The person in question was an illegally present alien who was granted withholding of removal to Guatemala. He was instead removed to Mexico, a safe third option for him, pending his asylum claim. Yet, this federal activist judge is ordering us to bring him back, so he can have an opportunity to prove why he should be granted asylum to a country that he has had no past connection to,” the department wrote on X in response to a news article about Murphy’s decision. 

“The Trump administration is committed to returning our asylum system to its original intent,” it declared. 

MARYLAND REP. IVEY BACK FROM EL SALVADOR AFTER FAILING TO MEET KILMAR ABREGO GARCIA 

The order from Murphy to return O.C.G. came in response to a class action lawsuit filed on behalf of him and three other plaintiffs, identified as immigrants from Cuba, Ecuador and Honduras who are residents of Massachusetts and Texas. 

“Plaintiffs and proposed class members are noncitizens with final removal orders resulting from proceedings in which they have been notified that they could be deported to a designated country of removal (usually their country of origin) and, in some cases, an alternative country of removal (usually a country of which they are a citizen or in which they hold status) and had an opportunity to contest removal to the designated country based on a claim of fear,” read a complaint filed in March. 

“They bring this class action to challenge the policy or practice of the Department of Homeland Security of deporting, or seeking to deport, them to a third country — a country never designated for removal — without first providing them with notice or opportunity to contest removal on the basis that they have a fear of persecution, torture, and even death if deported to that third country,” the complaint added. 

“DHS’ policy or practice of failing to afford these basic, minimal protections violates the Immigration and Nationality Act, the Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998, the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment, and the treaty obligations of the United States,” it also said.

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Attorneys representing the four plaintiffs did not immediately respond Wednesday to requests for comment from Fox News Digital.

FIRST ON FOX: A pair of House Republicans are urging Secretary Marco Rubio to punish Iraq with sanctions for its “complete subjugation” by Iran as part of the U.S.’s “maximum pressure” policy toward Tehran. 

“More than 4,400 American service members sacrificed their lives since the start of the Iraq War, yet today, Iraq stands as nothing more than a puppet of Tehran,” Reps. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., and Greg Steube, R-Fla., wrote in a letter to the secretary of state and interim national security advisor. 

The letter laid blame on the Obama administration, arguing former President Barack Obama and his Iraq envoy Brett McGurk “propped up” Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, whose leadership was marred by brutal political crackdowns and led to the rise of ISIS. 

“The Obama administration doubled down on its mistakes, relying on Iranian-backed militias to fight ISIS,” the letter read. “The consequences of those failed decisions are now undeniable: Iran-backed forces wield unchecked power over Iraq’s government and security services.”

TRUMP ADMIN ENDS WAIVER ALLOWING IRAQ TO BUY IRANIAN ELECTRICITY AS PART OF ‘MAXIMUM PRESSURE’ CAMPAIGN

Since 2015, the U.S. has offered Iraq’s forces $1.25 billion in foreign military financing, in addition to billions more for the interior ministry and defense ministry. 

Iran’s influence over Iraq was on full display when, in 2021, Iraq issued an arrest warrant for President Donald Trump for the killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, even as the U.S. still has 2,500 forces on the ground in Iraq to partner with local forces and fight ISIS. 

READ THE LETTER BELOW. APP USERS: CLICK HERE

Steube and Wilson called on the U.S. to cut all foreign aid to Iraq until it comes out from under Iran’s influence. 

The letter calls for the U.S. to sanction Iraq’s importation of Iranian gas. Currently, only payment for the gas is under sanction, meaning Iran gives fuel to Iraq without charge but expects repayment in other ways. The Trump administration ended a waiver that allowed Iraq to buy Iranian electricity in March. 

GOP REP. JOE WILSON TRUMPETS ‘MAKE IRAQ GREAT AGAIN!’ MESSAGE

The lawmakers called for designating the Popular Mobilization Forces, an Iranian-backed paramilitary group operating in Iraq, and its financial backers as foreign terrorist groups and sanctioning Iraq’s state banks that financially support Iran. It also called for sanctions on Iraq’s political figures that allow Iranian influence to flourish. 

“We urge you to take immediate action to implement these necessary policies and ensure that American resources are no longer used to prop up Iran’s control over Iraq.”

The U.S. initially invaded Iraq in 2003, toppling Saddam Hussein’s regime and drawing down its troop presence from wartime levels in 2007 and leaving altogether in 2011, before returning in 2014 at the head of the coalition to fight the Islamic State.

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Other nations, including Germany, France, Spain and Italy, also contribute hundreds of troops to the coalition.

In September, reports emerged that the Biden administration was working on a plan to draw down the U.S. troop presence in Iraq within the year, but no set-in-stone decision was made. 

Fox News Digital reached out to the State Department and the Iraqi Embassy for comment. 

A Texas sheriff, whose county shares 54 miles of the U.S. southern border with Mexico, told Fox News Digital he has seen a “dramatic decline” in illegal migrant crossings since President Donald Trump took office, specifically, a sharp decrease in the last two weeks. 

“Since President Trump took over, we have seen a continued decline in apprehensions,” Terrell County Sheriff Thaddeus Cleveland told Fox. “This past two-week period, we should have been busier because it coincides with the full moon cycle, that’s usually when we see more activity in our area.”

ALLEGED HUMAN SMUGGLERS ARRESTED IN TEXAS AFTER HIDING MIGRANTS INSIDE HOLLOWED HAY BALES

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) revealed earlier this month that April year-over-year apprehensions at the border were down 93%. CBP reported 129,000 apprehensions in April 2024 under the Biden administration, compared to 8,383 this past month under Trump. 

“You know, during the Biden administration, we saw, just like the rest of the U.S.-Mexico border, record levels of crossings and gotaways in our county,” Cleveland explained. “We also saw record levels of deaths from people trying to enter the United States. So that was definitely a challenge for us when you talk about the 10th largest county in the state of Texas, just over 2300 square miles, 54 miles of river.”

Trump border czar Tom Homan weighed in on the dramatic decrease in illegal crossings, telling Fox News Digital last week that the U.S. border “is the most secure in the nation’s history.”

TRUMP SANCTIONS ARE ‘FULL-FRONTAL ASSAULT’ ON ORGANIZED CRIME AT THE BORDER, EXPERT SAYS

“The way we did it, that we got a president in the White House, a strong president, who simply ruled a lot of [Executive Orders], the same [Executive Orders] that were proved effective in Trump 45, remain in Mexico, third state country agreements, ending catch and release, and continue building border barriers,” Homan told Fox.

Cleveland’s comments come days after a San Diego immigrant center shut down due to an “unprecedented decrease in illegal crossings this year.”

“In 3/2025, San Diego Sector arrested 1,199 illegal aliens with an average of 38 per day. This was a 186% drop compared to 3/2024,” the U.S. Border Patrol San Diego Sector posted to X on Sunday. 

ICE BEGINS NEW, NATIONWIDE EFFORT TO ARREST ILLEGAL ALIENS AT IMMIGRATION HEARINGS

Cleveland noted there might be additional facility closures if illegal crossing numbers continue to plummet. 

“As the border activity becomes slower and we see less and less crossings, we’re starting to see Border Patrol close more of these south side of facilities,” the Texas sheriff added. “We don’t have any out here in our area of West Texas. The closest one we had was down in Eagle Pass.”

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“There’s no reason to spend that money to keep those open, and they can definitely use that money in other parts of the border.”

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

FIRST ON FOX: A pro-energy group is renewing its call for an investigation into over half a dozen Biden administration executive actions related to climate that it believes should be deemed null and void due to them being signed by an autopen without any public comment from former President Joe Biden confirming his knowledge of them. 

Power the Future, a nonprofit organization that advocates for American energy jobs, reviewed eight Biden executive orders that it says were significant shifts in domestic energy policy and said it found no evidence of the president speaking about any of them publicly, raising concerns that the orders were signed by autopen and that he was not aware of them. 

“These are not obscure bureaucratic memos; these were foundational shifts in American energy policy, yet not once did Joe Biden speak about them publicly,” Daniel Turner, founder and executive director of Power The Future, told Fox News Digital. 

The executive orders reviewed by Power the Future include an Arctic drilling ban in 2023, a 2021 executive order committing the federal government to net-zero emissions by 2050, an executive order mandating “clean energy” AI centers and an offshore drilling ban executive order shortly before leaving office in 2025. 

PRO-ENERGY GROUP URGES AG BONDI TO PROBE BIDEN’S AUTOPEN ON CRUCIAL DECISIONS THAT DEVASTATED INDUSTRY

Finding no evidence of Biden publicly speaking about the executive orders on climate, Power the Future sent letters this week to the DOJ, EPA, DOI, DOE, along with the House and Senate Oversight Committees, calling for an investigation to determine who made the decisions, drafted the executive orders and ultimately signed them. 

“In light of the growing evidence that actions purportedly taken by the former president may not have been approved or signed by him, but instead promulgated by a small coterie of advisers in his name without his knowledge or over his signature using an ‘autopen,’ the need for congressional access to information has grown in importance with these revelations,” the letter to GOP House Oversight Chair James Comer states. 

“Congress deserves to know how or whether these executive actions were authorized, and whether the former President was aware of such orders before they were implemented by the federal bureaucracy. Were these actions taken on behalf of the president and purporting to execute his authority undertaken with the president’s knowledge and approach? It appears incumbent upon Congress to inquire, about all parties involved in these actions, who instructed them to do what, when.”

WHAT IS AN AUTOPEN? THE SIGNING DEVICE AT THE HEART OF TRUMP’S ATTACKS ON BIDEN PARDONS

Fox News Digital reached out to Biden’s office for comment but did not hear back by press time.

The presidential autopen has been a topic of conversation with Republicans in recent weeks and months as questions continue about Biden’s mental acuity during his presidency, particularly the last few years, which have faced increased scrutiny after the release of Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson’s book “Original Sin.”

“Power The Future remains concerned that key policies of major economic and national security significance directed by the White House during the Biden administration may have been undertaken without presidential awareness and approval, but perhaps instead by a small coterie of staff,” the letter states.

“Although this likelihood has become more apparent by claims made in a recent book titled Original Sin, those claims merely support information that had already emerged.”

An autopen is a device that physically holds a pen and is programmed to replicate a person’s signature. The Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel determined in 2005 that the president is permitted to use an autopen to sign bills into law, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued a ruling in February that said the absence of “a writing does not equate to proof that a commutation did not occur.”

In March, President Donald Trump claimed that Biden’s pardons of lawmakers who served on the House Select Committee to investigate the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot, and others, are “VOID,” alleging that they had been signed via an autopen and that Biden did not even know about them.

DAVID MARCUS: OLD MAN BIDEN’S AUTOPEN PARDONS SHOULD BE NULL AND VOID

Despite Trump’s concerns over the validity of Biden’s pardons due to the alleged use of an autopen, constitutional scholar Jonathan Turley told Fox News Digital that the odds of successfully legally challenging them in court are “vanishingly low.” 

“Presidents are allowed to use the autopen, and courts will not presume a dead-hand conspiracy,” Turley said. 

Power the Future’s letter references House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who in January shared that Biden, during a meeting, appeared to forget that he signed an order to pause LNG exports.

A report published by an arm of the Heritage Foundation claimed that the majority of official documents signed by Biden were allegedly an autopen signature.

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“During the Biden administration, hundreds of billions of dollars were funneled towards pet green projects, while the American fossil fuels industry was punished, and there is no evidence that Biden ordered it, directed it, or was even aware it was happening in his name,” Turner told Fox News Digital, adding that the American people “deserve to know” who was signing the executive orders “behind closed doors.”

“This autopen scandal is evidence that these green EOs are invalid, and the instigators should be thoroughly investigated by the DOJ for violating the trust of the American people and perpetuating a great fraud on the nation.”

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

Gov. Ron DeSantis urged House Republicans to take note of Florida’s successful implementation of “DOGE”-type governance and get moving on slashing waste, fraud and abuse identified by the executive branch organization.

“Elon Musk took massive incoming – including attacks on his companies as well as personal smears, to lead the effort on DOGE,” DeSantis posted on X.

“He became public enemy #1 of legacy media around the world. To see Republicans in Congress cast aside any meaningful spending reductions (and, in fact, fully fund things like USAID) is demoralizing and represents a betrayal of the voters who elected them,” the Republican said on Tuesday.

DeSantis had reposted a comment from former government scientist Matt van Swol, who claimed congressional Republicans have not done enough to go to bat for DOGE.

WINNERS, LOSERS AND GRAB-BAGS FROM HOUSE GOP’S NARROW PASSAGE OF BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL

“DOGE is literally one of the most popular government initiatives in history. 73% of Americans say they support cutting government waste. Trump brought in the smartest man on earth to do it… …the Left destroyed Elon for it …the GOP won’t vote on it I can’t believe this,” van Swol said in the shared message.

In remarks Tuesday, DeSantis expounded upon his concerns, saying that Florida’s executive branch has successfully implemented DOGE-type policies in the state, increasing affordability, lowering taxes and ridding Tallahassee of waste and fraud.

He said Florida has been a state for 180 years, and it was his own administration who reportedly paid down 41% of its accumulated debt to-date. 

DeSantis said the average Floridian’s share of the state debt is $400, while federally, their onus is about $105,000.

The governor noted how Musk stuck his neck out for DOGE and saw his car dealerships “firebombed” and how the media “smearing him relentlessly because he basically said, look, we can’t keep doing this…”

“And yet, we have a Republican Congress, and to this day, we’re in the end of May, past Memorial Day, and not one cent in DOGE cuts have been implemented by the Congress,” the one-time congressman said.

DEMS CALL BUDGET BILL ‘BUREAUCRATIC WATER TORTURE’ AS GOP ‘GLAD TO HAVE THE BALL IN OUR COURT’

“That’s one of the reasons why we need a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution. It’s another reason why we need term limits for members of Congress. But I think what you’ve seen with how, and I kind of said this early on, that DOGE and Elon were on a collision course with the swamp.”

Libertarian-minded Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., had lodged a similar complaint – claiming that rescission votes to act on DOGE’s proposed cuts were “cancelled” earlier in May – but a top aide to House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., disputed the claim. 

“No votes on rescissions were cancelled this week. The Speaker has repeatedly expressed his commitment to save taxpayer funds via the rescissions process,” wrote press secretary Athina Lawson.

“Under law, this process requires a special message to Congress detailing proposed rescissions before Congress can act.”

House Republicans could not include any DOGE cuts in the “big beautiful bill” because, in order to pass the Senate, the bill could only deal with statutorily “mandatory” spending concerns.

The rules of Senate Reconciliation preclude that move as well.

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The two options House Republicans have are to wait for a formal rescission request for a cut or cuts from Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought – a Trump appointee – and take that up within 45 days, or try to pass separate legislation themselves through the appropriations process.

The issue with the latter is that legislation independent of a request originating from the executive branch would require 60 votes – while a rescission request only requires a simple majority.

Republicans currently hold 53 seats in the Senate. Two independents – Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Angus King, Jr. of Maine – caucus with Democrats.

However, Republicans have had luck putting Democrats in a bind via the appropriations process, as the last passage of the typically massive bills led to members of that party turning on its leader – Sen. Charles Schumer of New York – for ultimately voting to fund the government earlier this year.

Fox News Digital reached out to DeSantis and Johnson for comment.

A federal judge permanently blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order targeting the law firm WilmerHale on Tuesday.

Trump’s order sought to limit the influence of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP by urging federal agencies to suspend security clearances for the firm’s employees as well as cancel contracts with the organization. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon found that the order violated the Constituion’s First, Fifth and Sixth Amendments, as well as separation of powers.

“For the reasons set forth below, I have concluded that this order must be struck down in its entirety as unconstitutional,” Leon wrote. “Indeed, to rule otherwise would be unfaithful to the judgment and vision of the Founding Fathers!”

Leon argued that Trump’s order served as a threat to law firms across the country.

FEDERAL JUDGES IN NEW YORK AND TEXAS BLOCK TRUMP DEPORTATIONS AFTER SCOTUS RULING

“If you take on causes disfavored by President Trump, you will be punished!” Leon wrote. “Other firms facing similar executive orders have capitulated to President Trump.”

WilmerHale drew Trump’s ire as the home firm of Robert Mueller, who served as special counsel during Trump’s first term and investigated alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election.

‘WOEFULLY INSUFFICIENT’: US JUDGE REAMS TRUMP ADMIN FOR DAYS-LATE DEPORTATION INFO

Federal judges have been a bane to Trump’s agenda in the opening months of his return to the White House, foiling or delaying key aspects of his immigration and economic plans.

A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily halted the administration’s effort to kill New York City‘s controversial congestion pricing program as well.

U.S. District Court Judge Lewis Liman issued a temporary restraining order barring the administration from getting rid of the program and withholding federal funding if the city failed to nix the program.

Another federal judge in Massachusetts chastised senior Trump officials Monday night for failing to comply with his court orders after a group of migrants was deported from the U.S. to South Sudan.

APPEALS COURT BLOCKS TRUMP ADMIN’S DEPORTATION FLIGHTS IN ALIEN ENEMIES ACT IMMIGRATION SUIT

U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy rejected Trump’s request to amend or withdraw the judge’s earlier decision requiring them to keep in U.S. custody six migrants who were deported to South Sudan without due process or notice. 

“It turns out that having immigration proceedings on another continent is harder and more logistically cumbersome than defendants anticipated,” Murphy said in his order, noting that the Trump administration is free to return individuals to have the interviews carried out on U.S. soil.

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The salvo comes as Murphy, a federal judge in Boston, presides over a class-action lawsuit from migrants who are challenging deportations to third countries, including South Sudan, El Salvador and other countries, including Costa Rica, Guatemala and others that the administration has reportedly eyed in its ongoing wave of deportations.

Fox News’ Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report

Defense Department civilian employees will no longer need to submit a weekly bulleted list of what they accomplished, which the Department of Government Efficiency had demanded of federal employees starting in February.

In an email to the Pentagon’s civilian workforce, Jay Hurst, who is performing the duties of undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, said the “five bullet exercise” will no longer be required and that employees should instead submit at least one idea by Wednesday to help improve efficiency or root out waste at the Defense Department.

Other agencies have also begun to end the weekly reports, including the National Institutes of Health last month.

FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS TRUMP DISMANTLING OF US INSTITUTE OF PEACE

Workers had been required to submit weekly reports justifying their employment by listing five things they did the previous week, as part of efforts by billionaire Elon Musk and DOGE — which had been led by Musk — to eliminate waste in the federal government.

Musk, who recently announced he is stepping back from DOGE and focusing more on his companies, Tesla, SpaceX and the social media platform X, said on Feb. 22 that federal employees would be required to start sending weekly reports of what they accomplished to the Office of Personnel Management as well as their managers.

“Consistent with President @realDonaldTrump’s instructions, all federal employees will shortly receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week,” Musk wrote on X at the time.

“Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation,” he emphasized.

Some agencies, including the Defense Department, the State Department and the FBI, initially told employees to hold off on submitting the reports.

Days later, the Office of Personnel Management told human resources officers across the government that the emailed reports were voluntary, according to The Washington Post.

ELON MUSK ‘DISAPPOINTED’ BY TRUMP’S SPENDING BILL, SAYS IT UNDERMINES WHAT DOGE IS DOING

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Officials at the agency also said they did not plan to do anything with the emails they received.

But Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sent a memorandum on Feb. 28 instructing all Pentagon civilian employees to submit the weekly emails requested by DOGE.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, appears to be leaning in on her rising political stardom this week, briefly sharing what appeared to be a fan-made song that referred to the Democratic firebrand as the “leader of the future.”

“Jasmine Crockett, she rises with the dawn. Fighting for justice, her light will never be gone,” the song went. “A voice for the people, standing strong and proud. Infectious with passion, she’ll never bow down. Leader of the future, she’s breaking all the chains. Jasmine you rock girl, keep leading the fight.”

The roughly two-minute-long song was set against what appeared to be photos of Crockett that were lightly animated using artificial intelligence (AI). It ended with a minute of Crockett’s own comments at a recent House hearing.

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

Fox News Digital observed the video on Crockett’s Instagram Story, where users post highlights that normally disappear after 24 hours. It was also visible on her Instagram Reels tab. Crockett’s official House of Representatives account was listed as a co-author alongside another Instagram account that appears to specialize in AI-generated musical video clips.

Crockett’s account notes that posts are made by her staff unless the letters “CWC” are present. Her account appears to have shared, but not originally posted the video. Fox News Digital reached out to Crockett’s office to ask if she took any part in creating or sanctioning the post.

After Fox News Digital’s inquiry, mention of the video disappeared from Crockett’s page. 

“A beacon of hope, we know you won’t deceive,” the song continued at another point. “Democratic champion, her mission’s loud and clear. For every single citizen, she’ll always be near. No MAGA could silence the truth she displays. Jasmine, you rock girl, keep leading the fight.”

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

Crockett has garnered a notable fan base among the progressive left since bursting on the national stage just over two years ago.

She has been known for public comments that have pushed the boundaries of congressional decorum and have even earned her censure threats from her Republican colleagues in the House.

Crockett garnered controversy in late March for referring to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who is in a wheelchair, as “Governor Hot Wheels.” She later clarified in a statement that she “wasn’t thinking about the governor’s condition,” but she did not apologize.

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She also appeared to cash in on a spat she was part of during a House Oversight Committee hearing last year, when her response to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., claiming Crockett had “fake eyelashes,” was to mock Greene as having a “bleach blonde bad built butch body.”

Crockett later moved to trademark the phrase through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

The Republican minority leaders in California are responding to potential next steps for the highly scrutinized Medi-Cal program, which is insolvent, as some believe the ability for people to enroll “regardless of their immigration status” is a leading cause. 

The state faces a $12 billion budget shortfall as budget talks continue in Sacramento.

The Medi-Cal program went insolvent earlier this year after it went billions over budget, resulting in $3.44 billion in loan requests to salvage the program, which covers low-income Golden State residents. Republicans said it was in large part due to illegal immigrants being allowed to enroll in the program, and Newsom also said that it was part of the spending issue, but not the whole picture, according to KCRA.

LAWMAKERS REVEAL WHETHER AMERICANS SHOULD PICK UP THE MEDICAID TAB FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

“That’s going to continue to be a big debate here in California as we’re wrestling with a $12 billion dollar deficit and the cost of providing free healthcare to illegal immigrants is $11.4 billion dollars, so if we just didn’t do that, that would eliminate our budget deficit,” California State Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones said. “Now, there’s lots of other ways we can find $12 billion dollars to eliminate the deficit as well.”

Newsom’s May budget revision proposes a pause for adults 19 and older from enrolling in “full-scope coverage” and to start charging a $100 premium each month “for individuals with certain statuses,” Fox News Digital reported earlier this month. 

“To be very clear, these proposals are the results of a $16 billion Trump Slump and higher-than-expected health care utilization. Because of these outside factors, the state must take difficult but necessary steps to ensure fiscal stability and preserve the long-term viability of Medi-Cal for all Californians,” Elana Ross, deputy communications director for Newsom’s office, told Fox News Digital in a statement.

“Governor Newsom refuses to turn his back on hardworking Californians, especially when it comes to their basic health care needs,” she added.

The proposal from the Newsom administration sparked criticism among some in the legislature, as the Democratic California Legislative Latino Caucus is suggesting a tax hike to pay for the program’s coverage for illegal immigrants, according to KCRA. The question remains whether a $100 premium would be enough to get people to leave the program.

LAWMAKERS IN DEEP BLUE STATE DEMAND AUDIT OVER SKYROCKETING HEALTHCARE COSTS: ‘ALARMING NATURE’

However, Jones said that Medi-Cal being offered to illegal immigrants might not be quite what Democrats present it as.

“It’s just a messaging point for the governor and the Democratic leadership. It’s not an actual thing. Meaning the governor and the Democrat leadership are promising illegal immigrants coverage, and they are on the rolls, but there’s very little access,” he said.

“A lot of doctors in California that used to provide Medicare and Medicaid have closed up shop, moved to other states. A lot of other doctors that are still here have stopped taking those kinds of patients, even if they’re here legally or illegally, because the reimbursement rates are so low, the doctors actually lose money when they take a Medicare or Medicaid patient,” Jones continued.

NEWSOM CONCEDES SKYROCKETING HEALTHCARE COSTS FOR ILLEGALS ARE ‘PARTIAL’ CONTRIBUTOR TO MEDICAID PROBLEM

Meanwhile, Assembly Minority Leader James Gallagher told Fox News Digital in an interview that the budget shortfall is “a total disaster” that “was completely predictable.”

“You know, two years ago, Gavin Newsom and the supermajority Democrats decided to fund illegal immigrant healthcare through our Medi-Cal program. And everybody said it’s gonna be billions of dollars. It’s not sustainable. And at the time, Biden was president, and people were coming across the border, millions of people. We had no idea. And I think a lot of them came to California and signed up. And so now we have a completely unsustainable, bankrupted Medi-Cal system that’s required $3.4 billion worth of loans to prop up.”

On a federal level, the pending reconciliation bill that recently passed the House of Representatives could also create issues for the state’s Medi-Cal offerings, as it would change the federal “match” from 90% to 80% for care that is not an emergency, which the Newsom administration says could cost the state billions, The Center Square reported.

“If Republicans move this extreme MAGA proposal forward, millions will lose coverage, hospitals will close, and safety nets could collapse under the weight,” Newsom stated last week.

Alex Thompson, co-author of the recently released exposé on former President Joe Biden, told Fox News Sunday that top aides ‘rationalized’ doing ‘undemocratic’ things to hide the president’s cognitive decline, because failing to do so would have been too beneficial to Donald Trump. 

During an interview with “Fox News Sunday’s” Shannon Bream, Thompson was asked whether any officials close to Biden, such as his cabinet secretaries, expressed remorse for their potential complicity in covering up Biden’s health.

“There was definitely a lot of self-reflection about what — if anything — they should have done differently,” Thompson said. 

“I think there was a feeling — like a lot of members of the Democratic Party that were seeing this, or saw moments of [Biden] seeming out of it — that going public wasn’t going to change his mind. It was only going to help Donald Trump. And I think that’s how a lot of them rationalized it.” 

AXIOS’ ALEX THOMPSON CALLS DONALD TRUMP’S HEALTH ‘FAIR GAME’ AFTER BEING ‘UNTRANSPARENT’ ABOUT RECORDS

“Now, whether or not history will judge them as being right for doing that, we will see. But this is also part of the reason why the White House was shielding [Biden] from as many people as possible, including cabinet secretaries.”

Bream went on to question Thompson about an aide he spoke to who said Biden “just had to win and then could disappear” because Biden’s “aides could pick up the slack.” Bream described the quote as essentially “admitting” Biden shouldn’t be running again.

EX-DNC CHAIR CALLS BOOK’S CLAIM THAT BIDEN DIDN’T RECOGNIZE HIM A ‘BOLD FACED LIE’

“Who would have been running the White House in a second Biden term?” Bream asked Thompson.

“Well, this person went on to say, ‘When you’re voting for president, you’re voting for the aides around him.’ But these aides were not even Senate confirmed aides – these were White House aides, these were unelected people.” Thompson replied. “One of the things that really comes out in our reporting here is that if you believe — and I do think a lot of these people do sincerely believe that Donald Trump was and is an existential threat to democracy — you can rationalize anything, including sometimes doing undemocratic things — which I think is what this person was talking about.”

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Thompson and CNN’s Jake Tapper have been doing the rounds discussing and promoting their new book titled “Original Sin,” which has garnered a lot of attention for detailing what critics have said shows Biden’s cognitive decline while he was in the White House was even worse than most people suspected. 

The book has been compounded by other revelations showing Biden’s cognitive abilities were likely hidden from the public by those closest to him.

A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily halted the Trump administration’s effort to kill New York City‘s controversial congestion pricing program.

U.S. District Court Judge Lewis Liman issued a temporary restraining order barring the administration from getting rid of the program and withholding federal funding if the city failed to nix the program.

NEW YORK CITY URGES JUDGE TO BLOCK TRUMP ADMINISTRATION FROM ELIMINATING ITS CONGESTION PRICING PROGRAM

Liman’s Tuesday restraining order keeps the tolls in place through at least June 9 and prevents Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy from retaliating against the city. 

“The judge’s ruling today was not on the merits of our case against Hochul’s class warfare, but rather a temporary pause to have more time to reach a decision,” a Department of Transportation spokesperson said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Enforcement actions for noncompliance were merely under consideration, and we will comply with the judge’s request to hold.”

“We look forward to making our case in court against (New York Gov. Kathy) Hochul’s illegal tolls as we work to protect working-class Americans from being unfairly charged to go to work, see their families, or visit the city,” the statement continued. 

In February, Trump posted an image of himself wearing a crown and wrote, “CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!”

Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment. 

The program was launched in January, using electronic license plate readers and charging most drivers a $9 toll during peak periods to enter Manhattan south of 60th Street in an attempt to reduce congestion and raise funds to improve mass transit.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SETS DEADLINE FOR NYC TO SHUT DOWN CONTROVERSIAL CONGESTION PRICING TOLL

The city said the program has dramatically reduced congestion on the roadways. There have been about 5.8 million fewer cars than expected in the congestion zone between January and March, or a reduction of about 8% to 13%, officials said. 

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander said the program was better for businesses, the city’s tourism industry and bus and taxi rides. 

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He noted that car crashes, noise complaints and traffic were down. 

Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville on Tuesday announced his 2026 run for Alabama governor.

Tuberville, a top Senate supporter and ally of President Donald Trump, launched a campaign website that touts his “conservative Alabama values.”

And the senator made his first appearance after announcing his candidacy on Fox News’ “The Will Cain Show.”

“I’m doing this to help this country and the great state of Alabama,” Tuberville said in his Fox News Channel interview. “I’m a football coach. I’m a leader. I’m a builder. I’m a recruiter, and we’re going to grow Alabama.”

WHY TOMMY TUBERVILLE IS TAKING AIM AT MAINE’S GOVERNOR 

“We’re going to bring manufacturing to this state. We’re going to stop this illegal immigration. We’re going to make education better again, and we’re going to do everything possible to make sure our kids… stay in this state and work,” Tuberville added.

Tuberville joined Fox News as he stood in front of his family and friends at an Auburn barbecue restaurant. 

The move by the former longtime college football coach — who spent 10 years as head coach at Auburn University in Alabama — ended weeks of speculation about his ambitions to run for governor in his homestate.

TUBERVILLE SPOTLIGHTS TRUMP IN EFFORT TO SAVE COLLEGE SPORTS

Just a week ago, Fox News confirmed that Tuberville told donors at recent private meetings that he would be launching a gubernatorial campaign.

And a source familiar told Fox News a couple of weeks ago that an endorsement from Trump would be a “done deal” if Tuberville decided to run for governor.

Tuberville, in his Fox News interview, said Trump was “fully supportive” of his gubernatorial run.

He is also backed by the politically influential and deep-pocketed Club for Growth, a fiscal conservative group that takes sides in GOP primaries.

REPUBLICAN GOVERNORS’ CAMPAIGN CHAIR DETAILS BALLOT BOX GAMEPLAN

Tuberville is seen as a front-runner in the race to succeed term-limited GOP Gov. Kay Ivey in the heavily red southern state. 

Alabama Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth, who had been expected to run to succeed Ivey, last week announced that he would not seek the office.

Tuberville was first elected to the Senate in 2020, running as an outsider who was closely aligned with Trump.

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In the Republican primary, he topped former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a longtime senator from Alabama before resigning in 2017 to serve as Trump’s attorney general. Tuberville went on to defeat incumbent Sen. Doug Jones, who was the first Democrat elected to the Senate in Alabama in decades.

Tuberville’s move to run for governor sets up an open Senate seat in Alabama in next year’s midterm elections.

The Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court to intervene and allow it to quickly deport illegal immigrants to countries other than their own, Fox News has learned. 

The request from the Justice Department comes after a lower-court judge, Brian Murphy, issued an injunction last month that halted the Trump administration’s attempts to rapidly deport immigrants residing illegally in the United States to third-party countries not their own. In the ruling, Murphy said the Trump administration must provide “meaningful” notice to immigrants it wishes to deport to third-party countries, so they have adequate time to challenge their deportation. 

The Justice Department’s request follows a separate Monday evening ruling from Murphy, rejecting the Trump administration’s request that his injunction be lifted, in order for deportations to continue while the merits of his ruling are adjudicated. Due to Murphy’s rejection, the Trump administration sought emergency relief from the Supreme Court, asking it to upend the injunction itself.

UPENDING US BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP WOULD HAVE DRASTIC NEGATIVE IMPACT, DEFENDERS WARN

At the center of the Trump administration’s request for relief from Murphy’s injunction are as many as a dozen people from various countries, including Vietnam and Myanmar, who were allegedly ordered deported to South Sudan in violation of Murphy’s earlier order. 

Last week, Murphy ordered that the migrants remain in U.S. custody at a military base in Djibouti until each of them could be given a “reasonable fear interview,” or a chance to explain to U.S. officials any fear of persecution or torture, should they be released into South Sudanese custody. As of Monday night, these interviews had not taken place, according to Murphy.

US JUDGE ACCUSES TRUMP ADMIN OF ‘MANUFACTURING CHAOS’ IN SOUTH SUDAN DEPORTATIONS, ESCALATING FEUD

It was unclear where the plane carrying the migrants may be as of last week, but a source with knowledge of the situation confirmed to Fox News that the flight was in the nearby African country of Djibouti, with U-S military personnel on the scene assisting. No word on when or if the flight would travel on to South Sudan. 

A Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman had indicated South Sudan would not be the final destination for that particular flight.

Reacting to Murphy’s ruling last week halting the deportation of illegal immigrants to South Sudan, President Donald Trump called on the Supreme Court to “put an END” to judges getting in the way of his immigration enforcement efforts.

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“The Judges are absolutely out of control, they’re hurting our Country, and they know nothing about particular situations, or what they are doing – And this must change, IMMEDIATELY! Hopefully, the Supreme Court of the United States will put an END to the quagmire that has been caused by the Radical Left,” Trump wrote in a post shared to his Truth Social platform.

“If this is not worked out quickly, and the World is watching, our Country will be under siege again, with hundreds of thousands of hardened criminals, ‘BREAKING DOWN THE WALLS.'”

Facing yet another loss after the Trump-backed “Big, Beautiful Bill” advanced in Congress, liberals are lashing out at Democratic Party elders for clinging on to power too long — even to death.

Shortly before the so-called BBB went up for a vote, Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., a longtime leader in the Democratic Party from deep-blue Fairfax County, passed away after a battle with esophageal cancer. Connolly had previously indicated he would be retiring at the end of his term in 2026.

In response, many liberal analysts and consultants complained that too many Democrats were refusing to leave office, including FIGHT Agency’s Rebecca Katz, who posted on X, “Imagine if one of the older and sicker Dems would’ve retired instead of died in office and what that would’ve meant for millions of people,” quoting a post of the final 215-214 tally.

Below that was a repost of a story with a large image of Connolly that described recent elderly Democrats who have died in office.

WHITE HOUSE: DEMS HAVE ‘NEVER BEEN MORE RADICAL, OUT OF TOUCH’ AFTER VOTING AGAINST ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’

When reached for comment, Katz told Fox News Digital that “no individual has a divine right to rule for eternity.”

“Democratic voters feel lied to and are demanding accountability, and our party needs to earn back their trust and start winning again. We shouldn’t be afraid to have hard conversations,” Katz said.

The story — in the left-wing New Republic — described how Connolly was the latest in a recent string of Democrats who have died in office, including Reps. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., and Sylvester Turner, D-Texas. According to her X profile, Katz has experience in Arizona politics working with Sen. Ruben Gallego’s campaign, as well as previously Sens. Harry Reid, D-Nev., John Fetterman, D-Pa., and Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y.

Meanwhile, the last eight lawmakers to have died in federal office have all been Democrats — including Turner’s own predecessor Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, for whom he took over for less than a term.

The New Republic appeared to lay the blame for the BBB’s narrow win at the feet of dead Democrats.

“House Republicans managed to pass their draconian budget bill, which promises to make massive cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, and food assistance, early Thursday morning by a narrow one-vote margin that was only possible due the deaths of three in this current Congress,” the New Republic’s Hafiz Rashid wrote, describing Connolly, Grijalva and Turner.

WINNERS, LOSERS AND GRAB-BAGS FROM HOUSE GOP’S NARROW PASSAGE OF ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’

Quoting another article from The Nation, Katz wrote: 

“In a democracy, politicians exist to serve the public; the public does not exist to serve politicians. It’s a sign of democratic decline if politicians live and die like warlords, clinging to every last ounce of power. Democrats need to define what they stand for as a party so their elected officials can once more be genuine public servants and not mere warlords.”

The Nation lamented how Democrats are supposed to be a political movement seeking to gain power and implement an agenda.

But, “in practice… [they] more closely resemble a hospice, if not a funeral home,” it went on, pivoting to criticizing the party for its bolstering of former President Joe Biden amid revelations from CNN anchor Jake Tapper’s book on the alleged “cover-up [of] his infirmity.”

The three Democrats who died within close proximity to BBB negotiations all hailed from reliably Democratic districts in Fairfax, Tucson and Houston, and could have had their seats filled by Democrats if they had retired in a timely fashion.

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Senior House Republican leadership staff emphasized that Connolly’s absence would not have had any bearing on the outcome of the votes.

Johnson had 217 votes on-hand, Fox News learned Tuesday.

Prior to Connolly, Turner and Grijalva, Democrats from similarly-secure Paterson, New Jersey; Houston oncemore; Newark, New Jersey; California (Sen. Dianne Feinstein); and Petersburg, Virginia, died in office and left their party in the statistical lurch.

Currently, the four oldest sitting federal lawmakers are Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, at 91, Reps. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., and Hal Rogers, R-Ky., at 87, and Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., at 87. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is 85.

Fox News Digital reached out to House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Connolly’s office for comment.

Elon Musk said he is “disappointed” by the costs of President Donald Trump’s “one big, beautiful bill” passed by Republicans in the House last week.

“I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not just decreases it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing,” Musk told “CBS Sunday Morning” in an exclusive broadcast interview.

DEMS SLAM TRUMP ADMINS OVER ALLEGED $436B SPENDING BLOCK

The remarks by Musk, who recently stepped back from running the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, are in contrast to Trump, who backed the legislation, which still needs Senate approval. 

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed 215 to 214 in the House. All Democrats and two Republicans, Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, voted against the bill. House Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris, R-Md., voted “present.”

The bill is a victory for Trump and House Republicans, who overcame policy disagreements to deliver on Trump’s key campaign promises, including an extension of his 2017 tax cuts and no tax on tips, overtime and Social Security. 

SENATE DEMS RAIL AGAINST ‘SHADOW SPEAKER’ BILLIONAIRE ELON MUSK: ‘NOT ELECTED TO ANYTHING’

It aims to cut roughly $1.5 trillion in government spending. The U.S. government is still more than $36 trillion in debt and has spent $1.05 trillion more than it has collected in the 2025 fiscal year, according to the Treasury Department.

The bill still faces hurdles. 

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The Senate is tasked with passing its own version. Republican leaders are hoping to send the bill to Trump’s desk by the Fourth of July. 

Fox News Digital’s Deirdre Heavey contributed to this report. 

A spokesperson for first lady Melania Trump shut down a “completely false” theory that her husband, the president, is warring with Harvard University because her son, Barron, was supposedly not accepted to the school.

The Palm Beach Post first reported that first lady spokesperson Nicholas Clemens said, “Barron did not apply to Harvard, and any assertion that he, or that anyone on his behalf, applied is completely false.”

This comes amid online rumors that President Donald Trump is targeting Harvard with federal funding cuts because Barron, who just finished his freshman year at New York University, was supposedly rejected by the school.

The Trump administration is asking all federal agencies to find ways to terminate all federal contracts with Harvard amid an ongoing standoff over foreign students’ records at the Ivy League school. Harvard has already sued in federal court seeking the restoration of about $3.2 billion in federal grant funding frozen by the administration since last month. 

HARVARD FOREIGN STUDENTS FACE UNCERTAIN FUTURE AMID TRUMP CAMPUS CRACKDOWNS 

In a Truth Social post on Monday, Trump accused Harvard of being “very antisemitic” and said he was considering giving the school’s federal funding to trade schools “all across our land.”

“What a great investment that would be for the USA, and so badly needed!!!” he wrote.

In a letter Thursday, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem informed Harvard’s leadership that the university had lost its “privilege” of enrolling foreign students as a result of the institution’s “refusal to comply with multiple requests to provide the Department of Homeland Security with pertinent information while perpetuating an unsafe campus environment that is hostile to Jewish students, promotes pro-Hamas sympathies, and employs racist ‘diversity, equity and inclusion’ policies.” 

On Friday, Judge Allison Burroughs, a President Barack Obama appointee, granted Harvard a temporary restraining order, preventing the government from revoking the Ivy League school’s certification in the Student and Exchange Visitor Program. The program permits the university to host international students with F-1 or J-1 visas to study in the U.S.

TRUMP RAMPS UP HEAT ON HARVARD: HERE ARE 5 REASONS FROM THE UNIVERSITY’S OWN INVESTIGATION

Trump said this week that Harvard is being “very slow” to turn over information on foreign students. 

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“We are still waiting for the Foreign Student Lists from Harvard so that we can determine, after a ridiculous expenditure of BILLIONS OF DOLLARS, how many radicalized lunatics, troublemakers all, should not be let back into our Country,” Trump wrote.

“Harvard is very slow in the presentation of these documents, and probably for good reason!” he wrote. “The best thing Harvard has going for it is that they have shopped around and found the absolute best Judge (for them!) – But have no fear, the Government will, in the end, WIN!” 

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

Fox News Digital’s Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.

The White House ripped Rep. Glenn Ivey, D-Md., for making a “shameful” Memorial Day trip to El Salvador in an attempt to visit deported illegal immigrant and suspected MS-13 gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia.

The White House’s rapid response account said of Ivey’s trip, “This moron spent his Memorial Day trying (and failing) to visit a criminal illegal immigrant gangbanger in a foreign country. For Democrats, criminal illegals > American citizens every time.”

Ivey posted about the attempted visit on his X account, saying that he represents Abrego Garcia, and that the Salvadoran government stonewalled his efforts to conduct a welfare check.

“Today, I was denied access to seeing my constituent, Mr. Kilmar Abrego Garcia. If there is nothing to hide, cut the crap. Let his lawyer and I check on him,” he said. “I’m the congressman who represents Kilmar and I came all the way down from the United States after we contacted their ambassador, after we made formal requests through our ambassador to the El Salvadoran government, and we came here to visit him today.”

DEM IMMIGRATION TALKING POINTS FIZZLE AS DARK PICTURE OF ABREGO GARCIA EMERGES

“We need to bring him home. I won’t stop until we do,” Ivey added in an X post.

Abrego Garcia’s deportation to his home country, El Salvador, has caused significant controversy. The Trump administration has pointed to evidence suggesting that Abrego Garcia was involved with MS-13 and human trafficking to justify his deportation. The administration has also cited court documents detailing Abrego Garcia’s alleged physical abuse of his wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura. Democrats, meanwhile, say he is a “Maryland man” who was not given his due process in court before being deported. 

Since Abrego Garcia’s deportation, several Democrats, including Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., have made trips to El Salvador to conduct similar wellness checks and to advocate for his release.

The trips have stirred significant controversy as well, with many asking why Democrats are spending so much time advocating for a suspected gang member who was unlawfully present in the U.S.

MARYLAND DEMOCRAT IVEY FURIOUS NOT GIVEN ACCESS TO KILMAR ABREGO GARCIA IN EL SALVADOR

The video also caught the attention of White House deputy press secretary Abigail Jackson.

Jackson told Fox News Digital that “it’s shameful, and an insult to the American people, that a Democrat Congressman spent his Memorial Day trying to visit a deported illegal alien, MS-13 terrorist, human-trafficker, and wife beater.”

CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE

“This pathetic stunt tells you everything you need to know about the priorities of the modern Democrat party – they’re putting criminal illegals over American citizens all the time,” said Jackson.

In addition to the wife beating evidence, Fox News Digital has previously reported on documents detailing Abrego Garcia being stopped by a Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper after he was “observed speeding” and unable to stay in his lane in 2022. The trooper noticed eight individuals in the car with Abrego Garcia, who said he began driving three days prior from Houston to Temple Hills, Maryland, via St. Louis to “perform construction work.” 

KILMAR ABREGO-GARCIA SUSPECTED OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN REPORT OBTAINED BY FOX NEWS

The report states that the trooper suspected it was a human trafficking incident, as there was no luggage in the vehicle. Additionally, the individuals in the car reportedly gave the same address as Abrego Garica’s home address.

When speaking with the trooper, Abrego Garcia allegedly “pretended to speak less English than he was capable of and attempted to put encountering officer off-track by responding to questions with questions.” After the incident, the officer decided not to give Abrego Garcia a citation for the driving infractions, but rather to give him a warning for driving with an expired license. 

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The White House has not held back in its criticisms of Van Hollen’s visit. In April, the White House tweeted side-by-side photos of Trump meeting with the mother of Rachel Morin, who was murdered by an illegal immigrant in 2023, and Van Hollen sitting with Abrego Garcia with the caption, “We are not the same.”

Rachel Morin was a Maryland resident, as is her mother, Patty, who said that Van Hollen had not reached out to her since her daughter was murdered.

Van Hollen responded to this criticism in a Fox News interview in which he said he “did have concern” for the Morin family and his “heart goes out to every Maryland family that is the victim of violence.” Van Hollen also said that “there is zero connection between the horrible murder of Rachel Morin and the situation with Abrego Garcia.” 

Ivey did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Two U.S. Secret Service officers have been suspended after reportedly fighting with each other in front of former President Barack Obama’s Washington D.C. mansion last week.  

The two uniformed officers were outside Obama’s residence around 2:30 a.m. on May 21 when one called for a supervisor to come immediately before “I whoop this girl’s a**,” according to an audio recording posted online. 

AUTHORITIES NAB WHITE HOUSE FENCE CLIMBER JUST TWO WEEKS INTO TRUMP’S NEW TERM

In addition to the audio, a video published Tuesday by RealClearPolitics shows the female officers punching and shoving each other.

“I need a supervisor out here… immediately before I whoop this girl’s a**,” one of the women said into the radio, the report states. 

WOMAN ARRESTED FOR ATTEMPTING TO CLIMB FENCE OUTSIDE WHITE HOUSE

The Secret Service confirmed the fight with Fox News Digital. 

“The individuals involved were suspended from duty and this matter is the subject of an internal investigation. The Secret Service has a very strict code of conduct for all employees and any behavior that violates that code is unacceptable.”

“Given this is a personnel matter, we are not in a position to comment further,” the spokesperson added. 

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It wasn’t clear what prompted the fight between the two officers.