NationalWatch

As she ran for the White House in the 2024 election cycle, Nikki Haley made her calls for “new generational leadership” a key component of her Republican presidential campaign.

And front and center from day 1 of her campaign as the former South Carolina governor and former United Nations ambassador declared her candidacy in February 2023 was her call for “mandatory mental competency tests for politicians over 75 years old.”

As Haley challenged then-76-year-old former President Donald Trump for the 2024 GOP nomination in hopes of eventually facing off in the general election against then-80-year-old President Joe Biden, the proposal became one of the most visible and at times controversial parts of her campaign stump speech.

DEMOCRATS RUN THE GAUNTLET AS THEY FACE QUESTIONS OVER BIDEN’S COGNITIVE ACUITY

Haley faced charges of ageism from a host of politicians opposed to the idea, including a now-83-year-old Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who at the time called her idea “absurd.”

While Haley’s campaign took off, and she ended up being the last Republican candidate standing against Trump during last year’s primaries, she eventually bowed out of the race in March 2024 as Trump marched toward clinching the presidential nomination.

BIDEN STRUGGLES WITH WORDS, KEY MEMORIES IN LEAKED AUDIO FROM SPECIAL COUNSEL HUR INTERVIEW

Fast-forward to today, and long-standing questions about Biden’s physical and mental fitness – and whether Democrats should have more forcefully urged him to bow out of the 2024 race – haven’t gone away; they’re front and center.

This as Biden’s condition is once again making headlines, courtesy of excerpts from a new book being released this week, “Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again,” which offers claims of a White House cover-up of the then-president’s apparent cognitive decline.

Additionally, last week’s leaked audio of Biden’s 2023 interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur, in which the then-president appears to suffer memory lapses, is also fueling the conversation.

Hur, who investigated whether Biden years earlier had improperly stored classified documents, made major headlines early last year when he decided not to charge Biden but described the then-president as an “elderly man with a poor memory.”

Last week’s developments were followed by Sunday’s blockbuster announcement that Biden was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer that had spread to his bones.

The news, while eliciting sympathy from both sides of the political aisle, is unlikely to sidetrack the current firestorm over the former president’s mental acuity.

BIDEN’S DIAGNOSIS: CANCER DESCRIBED AS AGGRESSIVE

“While the media may have been shocked by Nikki’s call for mental competency tests, Americans never were,” a source in Haley’s political orbit told Fox News. “It was common sense. Nikki always believed our leaders should be completely transparent and remember who they serve: the American people. After a yearslong cover-up, those who hid President Biden’s mental decline must finally acknowledge what Nikki and the American people always knew to be true.”

Haley, who was 51 when she announced her candidacy in 2023, reupped her calls for a mental competency test throughout her campaign.

In January last year, during the heat of the primary battle, Haley pointed to some verbal stumbles by Trump on the campaign trail.

“He’s not what he was in 2016. He has declined. That’s a fact,” Haley said at the time.

Trump repeatedly fired back as he touted acing a cognitive test he took five years earlier and said, “I think I’m a lot sharper than her.”

A month later, after the release of Hur’s written report regarding Biden’s mental acuity, Haley said, “Joe Biden can’t remember major events in his life, like when he was vice president or when his son died.”

“That is sad, but it will be even sadder if we have a person in the White House who is not mentally up to the most important job in the world,” she added as she reiterated her calls for Biden to take a mental competency test “immediately.”

Haley, in a Fox News op-ed in May 2023, spelled out the specific test she recommended for politicians over age 75.

“The Montreal Cognitive Assessment Test is a widely used tool for detecting cognitive decline,” Haley wrote at the time.

And she elaborated, “This is not a qualification for office. Failing a mental competency test would not result in removal. It is about transparency. Voters deserve to know whether those who are making major decisions about war and peace, taxation and budgets, schools and safety can pass a very basic mental exam.”

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Veteran political scientist Wayne Lesperance, noting the current media spotlight on Biden, said it has “renewed concerns many Americans have about the age and ability of our elected officials. Public service demands clarity of thought, sound judgment, and the ability to manage complex issues.”

And Lesperance, president of New England College, said “Americans must conclude that a fair and nonpartisan cognitive assessment, perhaps irrespective of age, is important to ensure all who seek to lead are equipped to serve with the sharpness and clarity the role requires.”

Put aside politics for a moment, which I know is basically impossible in this supercharged environment.

There is no way not to feel sympathy for Joe Biden as a human being after his prostate cancer diagnosis was made public on Sunday. He has a serious, life-threatening disease.

I have plenty of medical questions about why Biden and his doctors waited so long to treat this particularly “aggressive” form of cancer until it spread to his bones. This is inexplicable to me. Now the Stage 4 cancer can’t be cured, though it could possibly be contained.

Was this part of the coverup of Biden’s dramatic decline in mental acuity, as documented in the new book “Original Sin”? How would voters have reacted if they had known that not only was Biden too old and feeble to run for a second term, but also had cancer?

BIDEN BATTLING ‘MOST AGGRESSIVE TYPE’ OF PROSTATE CANCER WITH BONE METASTASIS, MEDICAL EXPERT SAYS

But on a personal level, Biden’s life has been marked by tragedy, from the car accident that killed his first wife and daughter to the brain cancer that claimed his son Beau – which is why he announced a “Cancer Moonshot” as president.

Look, I’ve known Joe Biden for 40 years, and whatever you think of his politics, he’s a likable guy. I covered him as Senate Judiciary chairman. As vice president, he once sent my then-8-year-old daughter a handwritten note after she wrote a poem about them sharing the same birthday. He used to love talking to reporters. He would throw parties for the press and run around with a super soaker, spraying little kids. That was then.

But by 2023, he had no business running for president again, not when aides were debating whether he’d need a wheelchair in a second term, according to the Jake Tapper-Alex Thompson book. Many Democrats are angry that he’s reemerged in a rehab tour, wishing the 82-year-old man would just get off the stage.

The former president put out a photo with his wife yesterday, saying: “Cancer touches us all. Like so many of you, Jill and I have learned that we are strongest in the broken places.”

Dr. Zeke Emanuel said on “Morning Joe” yesterday that the cancer has “been around for a very long time in President Biden – years… It is a little surprising to many of us oncologists that he wasn’t diagnosed earlier… He probably had it at the start of his presidency in 2021.”

But none of this matters to the far-right types, many of them based in Florida. 

POLITICAL WORLD REACTS TO FORMER PRESIDENT BIDEN’S ‘AGGRESSIVE’ CANCER DIAGNOSIS: ‘INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT’

Conservative influencer Roger O’Handley, writing under the name DC Draino (“America First”), wrote a screed that was retweeted or liked 10,000 times: “Some people seem to forget that he is a career criminal who almost destroyed America.”

According to Mediaite, another far-right commentator, Brenden Dilley (Warlord Dilley, “media personality”), says: “In order to believe the Biden cancer diagnosis, you have to first believe that Biden and his family would willfully tell you the truth about anything. In order for that to happen, you have to be f—ing retarded.” 

His solution: “Stage 5 prostate cancer.” In other words, death.

Presidential adviser Laura Loomer called this “a PR strategy to shame the Democrats who are coming out with a book about the cover up of Biden’s health crisis.”

Breanna Morello, a self-described “independent journalist”: “They want all the Monday morning shows talking about it because Jake Tapper has a book to sell. It’s a PR move.”

What these and other posts have in common is the lack of even a milligram of compassion for Joe Biden as a human being. Biden is evil, everything he does is evil, and if he dies, good riddance.

THE GREAT BIDEN COVERUP: AIDES DEBATED WHETHER TO PUT THE PRESIDENT IN A WHEELCHAIR

I find this inexplicably sad – win-at-all-costs politics is so all-consuming that human life is meaningless. 

Even President Trump dropped his usual attacks on his onetime opponent: “Melania and I are saddened to hear about Joe Biden’s recent medical diagnosis. We extend our warmest and best wishes to Jill and the family and we wish Joe a fast and speedy recovery.”

See, that wasn’t so hard.

Elon Musk, who’s faded from the news, shared a post from Clint Russell, who tweets as Liberty Lockdown (“a podcast for those who demand freedom”):: 

“So the plan was to run Biden, lie about his cancer and dementia, get him back in the WH, and then have him immediately step aside so Kamala’s reign of terror could begin.

“All while trying to jail or kill DJT. Just making sure we’re all on the same page, here. These people are evil.” 

MEDICAL EXPERT ‘ABSOLUTELY SHOCKED’ BY TIMING OF BIDEN’S PROSTATE CANCER DIAGNOSIS

Musk responded with a “bullseye” emoji in a dart board. 

JD Vance, for his part, sought a middle ground:

“Look, I mean, first of all, of course, we wish the best for the former president’s health. But hopefully he makes the right recovery. Look, I will say, whether the right time to have this conversation is now or at some point in the future. We really do need to be honest about whether the former president was capable of doing the job.”

Taylor Lorenz, who worked for the New York Times and Washington Post before going independent, was joyful about Biden’s news: “Hopefully he rots in hell and rests in piss.”

I have defended her at times, but this is beyond appalling. Lorenz has disgraced herself.

Then again, she cheered when UnitedHealtcare CEO Brian Thompson was murdered on the street, and refused to criticize the alleged shooter. What about his family? Too bad. Just zero regard for human life.

SUBSCRIBE TO HOWIE’S MEDIA BUZZMETER PODCAST, A RIFF ON THE DAY’S HOTTEST STORIES

Now is it likely that some on the left will celebrate once Trump passes, which I don’t see happening until after he’s long out of office? Sure. This disease goes both ways. But that doesn’t make it right. 

It was Bill Clinton, during his impeachment over Monica Lewinsky, who accused his opponents of “the politics of personal destruction.” And that’s been used against the presidents who followed him. It’s a sickness that says human beings don’t count, only winning at all costs. 

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Footnote: The Biden announcement prompted some equally sad news from Scott Adams, the brilliant “Dilbert” creator and conservative, pro-Trump voice who hosts a morning coffee for subscribers: 

“Well, I’ve decided today’s the day I’m going to take the opportunity — since a lot of you are here — to make an announcement of my own. Some of you have already guessed, so it won’t surprise you at all, but I have the same cancer Joe Biden has. So I also have prostate cancer that has also spread to my bones. I’ve had it longer than he’s had — well longer than he’s admitted having it.

“My life expectancy is… maybe the summer. I expect to be checking out from this domain sometime this summer.”

What a tragedy.

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…

–Pope Leo XIV meets with JD Vance, Marco Rubio

-Trump kicks off 18th week in office with high-stakes calls to potentially broker Ukraine, Russia peace

–Biden speaks out for first time since cancer diagnosis

Ending Legal Protections

The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to lift a lower court injunction that blocked President Donald Trump’s decision to terminate the protected legal status of hundreds of thousands of migrants living in the U.S., in a win for the administration as it looks to deliver on its hard-line immigration enforcement policies.

The decision clears the way for the Trump administration to move forward with its plans to terminate Biden-era Temporary Protected Status (TPS) protections for roughly 300,000 Venezuelan migrants living in the U.S. and allows the administration to move forward with plans to immediately remove these migrants, which lawyers for the administration argued they should be able to do.

U.S. Solicitor General John Sauer argued as much when he asked the Supreme Court to lift the injunction this month, arguing in an emergency appeal that a lower court judge had overstepped their authority by blocking the administration from ending the program for certain Venezuelans…READ MORE

White House

LITMUS TEST: Spotlight on Biden’s cognitive decline forces Democrats to run the gauntlet

KUSHNER VOTE: Trump-pardoned real estate mogul Charles Kushner up for key diplomatic post

‘VILE’: Walz ripped for ‘sickening’ use of Nazi era language describing Trump’s immigration policy: ‘Anti-American’

NO CONCERNS: Trump remains confident in White House doctors despite Biden cancer diagnosis

‘HUGE ADVANTAGE’: Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ wins support from police for overtime tax elimination

GRIM NEWS: Obama reacts to Biden diagnosis: ‘Nobody has done more to find breakthrough treatments for cancer…than Joe’

World Stage

‘NOT SEEKING WAR’: Iranian president calls for negotiation and dialogue as nuclear talks continue

HISTORIC DEAL: UK, Europe strike post-Brexit deal on defense, trade issues

UKRAINE BOMBARDED: Russia bombards Ukraine with drones hours after Trump announces talks with Putin

‘GOD BLESS US ALL’: Trump to call Putin in a bid to end Russia’s ‘bloodbath’ war with Ukraine

FORCED RESET: Trump’s tough policies push UK, EU to significantly expand trade and defense

Capitol Hill

GAMBLING TAX DOLLARS: Republicans demand probe into DOD’s taxpayer-funded charges at casinos, bars and nightclubs

REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: A user’s manual to where we stand with the ‘big, beautiful bill’

BRIDGE TOO FAR: Schumer slammed for claiming DOGE might be to blame for Mexican ship crashing into Brooklyn Bridge

Across America 

RADICAL TRANSPARENCY: FBI director opens up files on Nashville school shooting to rep for first time

‘ONLY PERSON ARRESTED’: Blue state political battle intensifies after Dem mayor’s arrest at ICE facility: ‘Outraged’

TAKE-HOME PAY DAY: New projection signals good news for families, workers in Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’

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

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer was ripped on social media over the weekend for suggesting President Donald Trump was partially to blame for a Mexican Navy ship losing control and crashing into the Brooklyn Bridge.

“After being fully briefed on last night’s Brooklyn Bridge accident, one thing is predominantly clear: there are more questions than answers as it relates to exactly how this accident occurred,” Schumer said in a press release after a 150-foot-tall Mexican Navy training ship, Cuauhtémoc, reportedly experienced a mechanical issue before its masts crashed into the Brooklyn Bridge, killing two cadets on the ship. 

“Bridges serve as critical transportation arteries for commerce, emergency response, and daily travel, and many span key waterways that are vulnerable to both natural and man-made threats. The Coast Guard plays a crucial role in monitoring and securing these areas, deterring potential terrorist attacks, preventing illegal activities, and responding quickly to emergencies,” Schumer wrote. “At the same time, maintaining the structural integrity and safety of America’s bridges is critical to the economy and the well-being of communities. A failure or attack on a major bridge could disrupt supply chains, endanger lives, and cause massive economic losses. It is unacceptable that the Trump administration is potentially jeopardizing our national and economic security – as well as American lives.”

Schumer went on to point to the DOGE-implemented hiring freeze at the Coast Guard, arguing it could have impeded the Coast Guard’s Vehicle Traffic System, which works in a similar fashion to the air traffic control system.

TRUMP SAYS ‘THERE’S SOMETHING WRONG’ WITH TOP DEMOCRAT HE’S KNOWN ‘A LONG TIME’

Schumer’s claim drew immediate criticism from conservatives on social media as well as the Department of Homeland Security.

“Minority Leader Schumer’s accusations that a hiring freeze led to the U.S. Coast Guard’s Vessel Traffic Services not being adequately staffed are FALSE,” the official DHS account posted on X. 

“The US Coast Guard has been fully supported and been exempt from hiring freezes. Additionally, this incident had nothing to do with Vessel Traffic Services— when a ship loses propulsion in a high current area, the vessel needs to engage all capabilities to stop and ideally tugs are nearby to support. We encourage Minority Leader Schumer to get his facts straight before he misleads the American people.”

CREW ON MEXICAN NAVY TALL SHIP SEEN CLINGING TO RIGGING AFTER COLLISION WITH BROOKLYN BRIDGE, VIDEO SHOWS

“Mexican vessel: Loses control, hits bridge,” Fox News contributor Guy Benson posted on X. “Schumer: I’ll never forgive Drumpf for this!”

“Schumer is a stupid, evil man,” conservative radio host and Fox News host Mark Levin posted on X. 

“I, too, question Donald Trump’s leadership of the Mexican Navy,” substack writer Jim Treacher posted on X. 

“Elon and Trump Derangement Syndrome is out of control,” conservative communicator Steve Guest posted on X. “Schumer is trying to pass the blame from the Mexican Navy onto them…”

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“He is an idiot,” senior counsel to Trump’s assistant AG Leo Terrell posted on X. 

Fox News Digital reached out to Schumer’s office for comment.

“The U.S. Coast Guard’s New York Vessel Traffic Service was fully functional during the incident, operating in accordance with established procedures to manage commercial traffic and facilitate safe navigation,” a Coast Guard spokesperson told Fox News Digital. 

Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.

White House’s visitor logs reveal that many of the top Democratic leaders who most vocally defended former President Joe Biden’s leadership capabilities were frequent White House visitors and were thus presumably aware of Biden’s worsening cognitive decline.

National Republican Congressional Committee spokesperson Mike Marinella slammed Democratic leadership for participating in what he called a “cover-up” and the “political scandal of the century.”

This comes as the 82-year-old former president’s condition is once again making headlines, courtesy of excerpts from a new book being released this week, “Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again,” which offers claims of a White House cover-up of the then-president’s apparent cognitive decline.

Additionally, last week’s leaked audio of Biden’s 2023 interview with special counsel Robert Hur, in which the then-president appears to suffer memory lapses, is also fueling the conversation.

DEMS FACE A LITMUS TEST OVER BIDEN’S COGNITIVE ABILITIES

Hur, who investigated whether Biden years earlier had improperly stored classified documents, made major headlines early last year when he decided not to charge Biden but described the then-president as an “elderly man with a poor memory.”

Visitor logs reveal that four top Democrats made a total of 63 visits to the Biden White House between 2022 and 2024.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., made 21 visits to the White House in the span of just two years, 2022 through 2024, according to official visitor logs. This means that Jeffries would presumably have been very familiar with the former president’s condition.

Despite these visits, Jeffries continued to assert that he was confident in Biden’s leadership, even saying in a 2023 interview that based on firsthand knowledge of the former president “in a high stakes circumstance,” Biden was an “incredible leader, incredible negotiator, incredible strategist, and he’s strong, brilliant, understands nuance.”

TRUMP WISHES BIDEN ‘FAST AND SUCCESSFUL RECOVERY’ AFTER PROSTATE CANCER DIAGNOSIS

Again, Jeffries claimed that Biden was “one of the most accomplished American presidents in our history, and he has the vision, I believe, the ability, the capacity and the track record to make a case to the American people that will result in us being successful in November.”

Jeffries insisted as late as February that Biden was “the strongest candidate to defeat Donald Trump.”

The last several documented visits Jeffries made were shortly before Biden’s disastrous debate with President Donald Trump. Biden’s shockingly poor performance at this debate led to calls for him to step down, ultimately leading to his dropping out of the 2024 presidential race.

In addition to Jeffries, several other top Democrats were also frequent White House visitors, including House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., as well as Reps. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., and Suzan DelBene, D-Wash.

Amid the Democratic turmoil in the wake of Biden’s poor debate performance, DelBene, who made five visits to the White House between 2022 and 2024, expressed continued support for Biden, saying: “The stakes are incredibly high this election, for all of us. That hasn’t changed after last week.”

DEM SENATOR SAYS BIDEN SHOULD HAVE DROPPED OUT OF PRESIDENTIAL RACE MUCH SOONER

“The choice this November is crystal clear,” said DelBene. “Democrats who want to govern responsibly versus extremist Republicans obsessed with tax breaks for billionaires, rolling back reproductive freedom, and defending Trump’s attacks on our democracy.” 

Aguilar, who made 10 documented visits to the White House in the span of two years, continued to defend Biden even after the debate, saying in a July 9 press conference that “right now President Biden is the nominee, and we support the Democratic nominee.”

Meanwhile, Clark, who made 27 visits to the White House between 2022 and 2024 and was among Biden’s most vocal supporters up until his poor debate performance, refrained from taking a strong stance on whether Biden should remain in the race, saying, “The decision is up to the president.”

After Biden announced he was dropping out of the race, Clark praised the former president, saying that “around the globe, he is admired for his steady, experienced leadership — always honoring America’s crucial role as a facilitator of peace, democracy, and human rights.”

FORMER PRESIDENT ISSUES FIRST PUBLIC COMMENTS SINCE PROSTATE CANCER DIAGNOSIS

Jeffries, Clark, Aguilar and DelBene did not respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.

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Marinella commented that “while Americans were asking questions, Democrat leaders lied to their faces and worked overtime to cover up the political scandal of the century.”

Marinella told Fox News Digital that “voters will never forget their disgusting deception.” 

House Republicans are channeling Edward Hopper this week as they try to pass President Trump’s big, “beautiful bill.”

Hopper is known for “Nighthawks,” one of the most iconic paintings in American history. The 1942 painting depicts four people in a diner in the middle of the night. A deserted streetscape commands the foreground. Two men – heads festooned with fedoras – sit separately at the counter, nursing coffee. One of the men has a cigarette tucked between his index and middle fingers. He’s positioned next to a woman with scarlet hair and a red dress. She appears to holding a bite of a doughnut or sandwich, studying it as though it were a rare artifact. She seems to debate whether she should eat it. A young counterman – attired in white with a crisp envelope hat – leans downward in search of glassware or dishes hidden underneath.

It’s the dead of night. Everyone is distant and detached. Even the couple – even though they sit side-by-side – don’t look at each other.

In Nighthawks, everyone appears as though they’re just trying to make it through the night to dawn.

It’s kind of what House Republicans are going through this week.

‘DEAD OF NIGHT’: DEMS ACCUSE GOP OF COWARDICE OVER LATE-NIGHT VOTES ON TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL’ BUDGET BILL

The House Budget Committee convened at 10:26 p.m. ET Sunday night to advance the tax cut and spending reduction package after a hiccup stalled the measure Friday afternoon. At 10:39 p.m. ET, the committee approved the bill 17-16 – with four House Republicans voting “present.”

The next stop is the House Rules Committee, the final parliamentary way station before depositing a piece of legislation on the floor.

At 12:31 a.m. ET Monday, the Rules Committee announced it would prep the bill for the floor – with a meeting at 1 a.m. Wednesday morning. That session could last all day Wednesday. Literally. The Energy and Commerce panel met for 26 consecutive hours last week to prepare its section of the budget reconciliation measure. The Ways and Means Committee huddled all night long.

The group of House Republicans pushing to state and local tax for high-tax states (known as SALT) scheduled a meeting with House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., for 9 p.m. ET Monday. And it’s entirely possible that the House could be debating or even voting on the measure late Thursday, the wee hours of Friday morning or even Friday night.

This is how Capitol Hill rolls when there’s a big piece of legislation on the clock. The hours are late. The meetings are long. Lawmakers convene different sessions whenever they need to – just to get the measure across the finish line.

HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO WHERE THE ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ STANDS, AND WHAT HAPPENS SUNDAY IN THE BUDGET COMMITTEE

The only difference between the halls of Congress now and “Nighthawks” is that the coffee fueled the figures in the painting until dawn. It was 1942. But this is 2025. Edward Hopper would know nothing of Celsius or Red Bull.

There’s an actual parliamentary reason as to why the Budget Committee met so late on Sunday night after its stumble on Friday afternoon. And there’s a method to the Rules Committee’s 1 a.m. madness on Wednesday.

Let’s rewind.

The Budget Committee tried to blend the various provisions from nearly a dozen House committees into one unified legislative product midday Friday. That effort came up short. A total of five Budget Committee Republicans voted nay. They groused about spending cuts, green energy tax credits and the timeframe of work requirements for those on Medicaid.

Four of the five GOP noes were truly opposed. Rep. Lloyd Smucker, R-Penn., voted nay so he could order a re-vote. Rules allow a member on the winning side of an issue (in this case, the nays), to ask for another vote later. Smucker supported the plan. But he then switched his vote to nay to be on the winning side. That teed up a possible re-vote.

REPUBLICANS READY LATE-NIGHT SESSION ON TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ AFTER GOP MUTINY

“Calling a vote moves the process forward. I think it’s a catalyst,” said Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Tex., after the failed vote Friday.

The Budget Committee then announced it would convene at 10 p.m. ET Sunday.

This is where things get interesting:

The key here was for the Budget Committee to finish its work before midnight Friday. Once it got rolling, the process would only consume 15 or 20 minutes. The Budget Committee approved the plan 17-16 with four Republicans voting “present.”

“We’re excited about what we did,” said Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., who was one of the GOPers who voted nay Friday.

But Norman still wasn’t excited enough to vote yes on Sunday night. He voted present.

“There’s so much more that we have to do to rein in government and rein in the costs and the deficits,” said Norman on FOX Business Monday.

But regardless, the measure was out of the Budget Committee before the witching hour on Sunday. And then came the Rules Committee announcement – just after midnight on Monday – about a session at 1 a.m. Wednesday to ready the “big, beautiful bill” for the House floor.

There are several reasons House Rules Committee Republicans decided to huddle at 1 a.m. et Wednesday. Let’s begin with the parliamentary one.

HOUSE REPUBLICANS FACE DOWN DEM ATTACKS, PROTESTS TO PULL ALL-NIGHTER ON TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’

The Budget Committee wrapped up just before midnight Sunday. The rules allow Democrats two full days to file their paperwork and viewpoints after that meeting. So, they had all day Monday and all day Tuesday. The Rules Committee needs an “hour” to announce its formally meeting. So, the “official” announcement of the Rules Committee meeting on Wednesday will go out just after 12:01:01 a.m. ET Wednesday. That triggers a 1 a.m. ET meeting on Wednesday.

Here are the other, more practical reasons.

Republicans need all the time they can get. There is talk of trying to vote on the floor late in the day on Wednesday. We’ll see about that. But the early Rules Committee meeting time makes that a possibility.

Second of all, it’s possible the Rules Committee meeting could consume the entire calendar day of Wednesday. Streams of lawmakers from both sides will file into the Rules Committee to propose various amendments. This is a protracted process.

But by the same token, meeting at 1 a.m. ET could diminish attendance. After all, who wants to show up at 1 a.m. ET for a meeting and maybe discuss your amendment at 6:30 a.m. ET? You get the idea. 

And once the bill gets out of the Rules Committee, expect late night meetings among Republicans as they try to close the deal. It’s possible the House could vote at virtually any time of day Wednesday, Thursday or Friday to pass the bill. That could be late in the evening. Or even overnight. They will vote when the bill is ready, regardless of the time on the clock.

Such is the lot drawn this week by House Republicans for the “big, beautiful bill.” Maybe they’ll have the votes. Maybe they won’t. Maybe they’ll pass more spending cuts. Maybe there’ll be a deal on SALT for state and local taxes. Maybe not. Maybe the vote comes at 3 in the afternoon. But more likely, sometime late at night.

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Just like in Nighthawks, everyone on Capitol Hill is just trying to make it through the night and to the dawn.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is launching an investigation into the City of Chicago for allegedly engaging in a pattern of discrimination based on race, which is a violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Harmeet K. Dhillon, the assistant attorney general for the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, sent a letter to Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson on Monday to notify him that an investigation into civil rights violations was being opened.

“Our investigation is based on information suggesting that you have made hiring decisions solely on the basis of race,” Dhillon wrote. “In your remarks made yesterday at the Apostolic Church of God in Woodlawn, you highlight[ed] the number of Black officials in [your] administration.”

Johnson was a guest at the Apostolic Church of God, when he responded to critics who claim he only talks about hiring Black people.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TARGETS IVY LEAGUE SCHOOL, LAW JOURNAL FOR RACIAL DISCRIMINATION

“No, what I’m saying is, when you hire our people, we always look out for everybody else. We are the most generous people on the planet,” he said. 

Johnson went on to list top officials in his administration, emphasizing their race.

For example, Johnson said his deputy mayor of business and economic neighborhood development is a Black woman.

Other positions filled by Black women that Johnson spoke about include the deputy mayor of infrastructure, the budget director and the commissioner of the department of planning and development.

AG BONDI LAUNCHES INVESTIGATION INTO DEI ADMISSIONS POLICIES AT STANFORD, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SCHOOLS

Johnson also highlighted the chief operations officer and senior advisor as both being positions held by Black men.

“You then said that you were ‘laying’ these positions ‘out’ to ‘ensure that our people get a chance to grow their business,” Dhillon wrote to Johnson. “Considering these remarks, I have authorized an investigation to determine whether the City of Chicago is engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination as set forth above.

“If these kind of hiring decisions are being made for top-level positions in your administration, then it begs the question whether such decisions are also being made for lower-level positions,” she added.

RUMP DOJ SLAPS ILLINOIS, CHICAGO WITH LAWSUIT OVER SANCTUARY LAWS

Dhillon stressed that no conclusions have been made on the matter, and she welcomed his assistance with the investigation.

Johnson’s office did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on the investigation.

The Chicago mayor has made race-based comments in the past.

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After President Donald Trump was elected to a second term, Johnson claimed during a news conference that the new president is a threat to Black families in his city.

“His threat is not just towards new arrivals and undocumented families. His threats are also against Black families,” Johnson said. “We’re going to protect Black folks, Brown folks, Asian folks. The City of Chicago will be better, stronger and safer despite who’s in the White House.”

Fox News’ Patrick McGovern and Elizabeth Heckman contributed to this report.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) conducted its first self-deport operation, dubbed “Project Homecoming,” with a charter flight on Monday from Texas, and made stops in Honduras and Columbia, taking 64 illegal immigrants who chose to self-deport back to their home countries.

DHS said in a post on X that all participants who chose to leave the U.S. were offered the same benefits as any illegal alien who self-deports using the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Home App.

“They received travel assistance, a $1,000 stipend, and preserved the possibility they could one day return to the United States legally,” DHS said.

DHS also shared a video of the events leading up to the first flight, showing families preparing to leave Houston, where they were greeted and offered food, games and stuffed animals for their children.

TRUMP SIGNS EO OFFERING ILLEGAL MIGRANTS ‘EXIT BONUS’ IN FIRST-EVER SELF-DEPORTATION PROGRAM

Earlier this month, President Donald Trump signed an executive order establishing the first ever self-deportation program which incentivizes illegal immigrants to voluntarily leave the U.S. on a free flight and with a cash bonus.

“Project Homecoming” authorizes government-funded flights and offers money to illegal immigrants who are willing to self-deport.

When Trump announced the signing of the order in a post on Truth Social, he said the program would end up saving taxpayers “billions and billions” of dollars.

DEMOCRAT FLOATS WORK VISA SUGGESTION IN RESPONSE TO TRUMP ADMIN’S $1,000 SELF-DEPORTATION OFFER

“We are making it as easy as possible for illegal aliens to leave America. Any illegal alien can simply show up at an airport and receive a free flight out of our country,” Trump said. “Illegals can book a free flight to any foreign country as long as it’s not here. You can go anywhere you want.”

DHS said days before the executive order was signed that migrants would be offered a $1,000 stipend each to leave. The department said this will be 70% cheaper for American taxpayers, as it currently costs DHS, on average, over $17,000 to arrest, detain, and deport someone.

“This deportation bonus will save American taxpayers billions and billions of dollars,” Trump said.

DHS UNLEASHES POSSIBLE MONEY-SAVING MEASURE FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS TO SELF-DEPORT: ‘SAFEST OPTION’

Illegal immigrants are encouraged to use the CBP One app to arrange their deportations. The same app under the Biden administration was used to expedite migrants from scheduling appointments at official ports of entry before they were paroled into the U.S., which was discontinued on the first day of Trump’s second term.

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem shared a post about the first “Project Homecoming” flight on X, advising those in the country to take advantage of the program.

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“If you are here illegally, use the CBP Home App to take control of your departure and receive financial support to return home,” Noem wrote. “If you don’t, you will be subjected to fines, arrest, deportation and will never be allowed to return. If you are in this country illegally, self-deport NOW and preserve your opportunity to potentially return the legal, right way.”

Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.

Following news that the House Rules Committee will convene at 1 a.m. on Wednesday morning to take the next steps in advancing President Trump’s “big, beautiful” budget bill, Democrats are accusing Republicans of cowardice for advancing the monumental bill “in the dead of night.”

The House Budget Committee reached an initial consensus to pass the bill to the Rules Committee late Sunday evening, after gaveling in at approximately 10:00 p.m. The Rules Committee must now take up the matter to set out the rules for debate and markup that are expected to take place next in the GOP-controlled House of Representatives. 

Shortly after, the House Budget Committee passed the bill in a late-Sunday night vote, the House Rules Committee announced it would be considering the One Big Beautiful Bill Act at 1 a.m. on Wednesday morning. The announcement, followed by the late-night Sunday vote, has stirred up criticism from Democrats who argue the late-night legislative sessions are the result of GOP cowardice.

“Republicans are scheduling votes in the DEAD OF NIGHT on Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill.’ They advanced their bill last night at 10:30PM. The next vote is scheduled for 1AM on Wednesday. Why hide?” questioned Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. “Maybe because this bill rips away health care from babies, new moms, and seniors.”

NEW PROJECTION SIGNALS GOOD NEWS FOR FAMILIES, WORKERS IN TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’

The legislative negotiations over the GOP’s budget bill have circulated around what federal programs, or funding, will need to be cut in order to extend the president’s tax cuts from his first term, which are set to expire. Among those cuts are new provisions to federal healthcare programs, like Medicaid, which Democrats have slammed as a move to take away public healthcare programs from those who need them the most.   

“Republicans know that their efforts to take away health care from millions of Americans is deeply unpopular. Republicans know that the effort to enact the largest cut to nutritional assistance in American history, which will literally take food from the mouths of children, veterans and seniors, is deeply unpopular. Republicans know that providing billionaire donors with a massive tax break for people, like Elon Musk, and at the same time, exploding the deficit by trillions of dollars is deeply unpopular,” the Democrats’ House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said during a Monday afternoon press conference. 

“That’s why Republicans are going to try to advance this bill in the dead of night at 1 a.m. in the morning.”

HAROLD FORD, JR. ARGUES TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ CUTS ONLY THE RICHEST PEOPLE’S TAXES

Republicans, however, have indicated their hope to pass their new budget bill by Memorial Day, and, in order to do that, the lengthy reconciliation process Republicans are using to get the bill passed must move quickly as the date is fast approaching. 

As a result of the looming Memorial Day deadline, Republicans appear to be moving the bill forward as quickly as possible, and, to do so, it is reportedly requiring the House Rules Committee to convene early Wednesday morning.  

“Under the rules, Budget Dems get two calendar days to file minority views after last night’s markup. That could take until midnight Tuesday. Rules then has a one hour notice requirement, hence starting at 1 am,” political commentator Brendan Buck said on X, citing someone with expert knowledge of the legislative process. 

BUDGET OFFICE WITH ‘FUNDAMENTALLY PROGRESSIVE ROOTS’ USED BY DEMS AS LATEST TOOL IN ANTI-TRUMP RESISTANCE

But that hasn’t stopped Democrats from claiming Republicans are engaging in late-night votes to somehow keep the budget bill process out of the limelight.

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“Remember when Republicans said late-night sessions were ‘not what the country needs or deserves’ during the American Rescue Plan? Now they’re getting ready to make dramatic cuts to Medicaid and SNAP so they can give tax breaks for billionaires – in the dead of night,” Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., said following news of the Wednesday morning Rules Committee session. “Hypocrisy on full display.”

Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Alina Habba is charging Rep. LaMonica McIver for her alleged misconduct toward law enforcement in front of Delaney Hall earlier this month, but she is dismissing the trespassing charge against Newark Mayor Ras Baraka.

“Today my office has charged Congresswoman McIver with violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 111(a)(1) for assaulting, impeding and interfering with law enforcement,” Habba said in a post on X on Monday.

In a letter posted with the comment, Habba announced that after extensive consideration, she was dismissing charges against Baraka.

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was charged with class C misdemeanor trespassing at the facility, which is privately operated by the GEO Group, last week, and he had his first court appearance on Thursday, which Habba personally attended.

BLUE STATE ICE FACILITY RAMPS UP SECURITY WITH NEW BARRICADES AMID CLASHES WITH PROTESTERS

“We believe that I was targeted in this,” Baraka said outside the courtroom after his appearance.

Baraka and three congressional lawmakers – McIver, Robert Menendez Jr., and Bonnie Watson Coleman were outside the ICE facility last week with a group of protesters when the gates opened to allow an ICE bus in. All four officials then allegedly rushed through the gates past security, according to officials from the Department of Homeland Security. 

“If it was a typical U.S. citizen, and they tried to storm into a detention facility that’s housing dangerous criminals or any person at all, they would be arrested,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told “Fox News Live” host Kevin Corke Saturday. “Just because you are a member of Congress or just because you’re a public official, does not mean you are above the law.

DEM LAWMAKERS DEFEND ‘STORMING’ OF ICE FACILITY, SAY TRUMP ADMIN IS ‘LYING AT ALL LEVELS’

However, McIver and others allege that “ICE created chaos” and instigated the situation.

“The way we were treated at Delaney Hall is almost unbelievable. ICE shoved me, manhandled [Watson Coleman], and arrested [Baraka]. They disrespected us and tried to stop us from conducting the oversight we’re elected to do. But we’ll never back down in our fight for what is right,” McIver posted to X last week.

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The arrest came as activists had been calling for access to the facility for days, which is a privately run facility that was revamped as an immigration detention facility this year. The city says that the facility is operating without a valid certificate of occupancy, whereas the GEO Group maintains that they are in full compliance with city laws. 

DHS SAYS ‘ARRESTS ARE STILL ON THE TABLE’ AFTER NEW JERSEY HOUSE DEMS CAUGHT ON CAMERA ‘STORMING’ ICE FACILITY

CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE

After another protest that went right up to the gates of Delaney Hall, large yellow barricades were placed in front of its entrance with signs warning against trespassing on private property. 

Fox News Digital reached out to McIver’s office for comment. 

Following his phone calls with the leaders of Russia and Ukraine, President Donald Trump appeared confident that peace talks between the two warring nations will soon be progressing.

In response to a reporter’s question outside the White House on Monday, Trump said that he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin is genuine in his seeking a peace deal.

“President Trump, do you think Vladimir Putin wants peace?” the reporter shouted across the lawn.

Trump stopped and responded: “I do. Yes.”

“Do you still trust Putin?” the reporter continued, to which Trump responded: “I do.”

TRUMP SAYS PUTIN IS ‘TIRED’ OF RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR 

Speaking later that same day, after an event honoring fallen law enforcement officers in the White House, Trump said that he believes Putin has “had enough” of the war. 

“I think he’s had enough. I think he’s had enough. It’s been a long time. This has been going on for more than three years. When you think, it’s been going on for a long time,” said the president. 

Meanwhile, Trump seemed less confident in Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Asked whether Zelenskyy is doing enough to help the peace talks process along, Trump responded: “I’d rather tell you in about two weeks from now, because I can’t say yes or no.” 

“Look, he’s a strong person, Zelenskyy, a strong guy, and he’s not the easiest person to deal with,” said Trump. “But I think that he wants to stop, and it’s a very bad thing that’s happening over there. I think he wants to stop. But I could answer that question better in two weeks or four weeks from now. I hope the answer is that he wants to get it solved.”

RUSSIA BOMBARDS UKRAINE WITH DRONES HOURS AFTER TRUMP ANNOUNCES TALKS WITH PUTIN

Trump also commented on newly inaugurated Pope Leo XIV, saying he would like to help facilitate peace between the two nations. Trump said that it would be “great” to have the peace talks at the Vatican.

“There’s tremendous bitterness, anger, and I think maybe that could help some of that anger,” said Trump. 

Trump and Putin held a two-hour call on Monday in what the U.S. said was a push to get Russia to end its deadly war in Ukraine. 

Both Trump and Putin described the call in a positive light, with the Kremlin chief saying it was “frank” and “useful,” but it is not immediately clear what results were achieved. 

Trump took to social media to praise the call as having gone “very well” and said, “Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations toward a Ceasefire and, more importantly, an END to the War.”

RUBIO TEASES DETAILS OF POTENTIAL TRUMP, PUTIN IN-PERSON MEETING AFTER RUSSIA-UKRAINE CEASEFIRE TALKS STALL

“The conditions for that will be negotiated between the two parties, as it can only be, because they know details of a negotiation that nobody else would be aware of,” he added. 

Putin, in a statement after the call, also noted that “a ceasefire with Ukraine is possible” but “Russia and Ukraine must find compromises that suit both sides.”

Any concrete details on the nature of these compromises remain unclear, despite negotiation attempts in Turkey on Friday, which Trump suggested failed because he needed to negotiate with Putin first.

In the lead up to the talks, Trump also spoke with Zelenskyy, along with other world leaders like U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron, who said they discussed the urgent need for Putin to agree to an unconditional ceasefire or face serious repercussions, including more sanctions.

TRUMP KICKS OFF 18TH WEEK IN OFFICE WITH HIGH-STAKES BID TO BROKER UKRAINE, RUSSIA PEACE

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Russia currently occupies about 20% of Ukraine’s landmass. However, the Russian military’s advance has significantly slowed to a virtual stalemate. 

In October, Fox News Digital reported that Russia has suffered some 600,000 casualties in its war with Ukraine — more than its losses in every conflict since World War II combined.

Fox News Digital’s Caitlin McFall and Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump spoke candidly about former President Joe Biden’s recent prostate cancer diagnosis on Monday, expressing sympathy while also suggesting that the situation should be investigated.

Biden’s team announced the diagnosis on Sunday afternoon, saying that the former statesman “was seen for a new finding of a prostate nodule after experiencing increasing urinary symptoms.”

“On Friday, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, characterized by a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5) with metastasis to the bone,” the statement added.

“While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management,” Biden’s team concluded. “The President and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians.”

‘SMALL NODULE’ FOUND IN BIDEN’S PROSTATE DURING ROUTINE EXAM, SPOKESPERSON SAYS

Speaking to reporters on Monday afternoon, Trump called the news “very sad, actually.” 

“I’m surprised that…you know, the public wasn’t notified a long time ago because to get to stage nine [sic], that’s a long time,” Trump said. “I just had my physical… We had the doctors at the White House and over at Walter Reed, which is a fantastic hospital. I did a very complete physical, including cognitive tests.”

Trump also referenced Biden’s cognitive decline during his presidency, stating that “anybody running for president should take a cognitive test.”

“They say it’s unconstitutional. But I would say in that particular case, having a cognitive test wouldn’t be so bad,” the Republican said.

Trump also posited that the general public “wasn’t informed” about Biden’s medical situation, and suggested that the situation should be investigated.

OBAMA REACTS TO BIDEN CANCER DIAGNOSIS 

“I think somebody is going to have to speak to his doctor if it’s the same, or even if it’s two separate doctors,” Trump said. “Why wasn’t the cognitive ability, why wasn’t that discussed? And I think the doctor said he’s just fine. And it’s turned out that’s not so. It’s very dangerous.”

The president concluded by saying that the cancer diagnosis is “a very, very sad situation and I feel very badly about it.”

“I think people should try and find out what happened, because I’ll tell you….I don’t know if it had anything to do with the hospital,” Trump added. “Walter Reed is really good. There’s some of the best doctors I’ve ever seen.”

“Somebody is not telling the facts,” he concluded. “It’s a big problem.”

News of Biden’s aggressive cancer diagnosis shocked the country over the weekend. After receiving bipartisan messages of sympathy, the 82-year-old thanked his supporters on social media on Monday.

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“Cancer touches us all,” Biden wrote on X. “Like so many of you, Jill and I have learned that we are strongest in the broken places. Thank you for lifting us up with love and support.”

BETHLEHEM, PA – Freshman GOP Rep. Ryan Mackenzie flipped a congressional seat in the Lehigh Valley just six months ago, but with competitive midterm elections expected in 2026, Americans for Prosperity (AFP) is already building its grassroots coalition in his swing district. 

It’s an off-election year for Mackenzie, who unseated longtime Democrat Rep. Susan Wild in November, but as the 42-year-old jogged through neighborhood blocks in Bethlehem and greeted constituents at their doors on Saturday afternoon, the newest Pennsylvania congressman still has 17 months before his first re-election challenge.

Mackenzie joined AFP activists in the Lehigh Valley on Saturday for a day of action, designed to educate constituents on his work to extend President Donald Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) and pass Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” as budget negotiations continue back on Capitol Hill. He said it was his first time door knocking since winning in November. 

“We have a tremendous opportunity as members of Congress to actually pass transformative legislation which will bring down taxes and the cost of living for not only individuals, but small businesses all across this country. For the past four years, we’ve seen that inflation has been out of control, driving up the prices of everything — food, fuel, housing, healthcare,” Mackenzie told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview. 

GOP REPS, ADVOCACY GROUP TO TARGET COMPETITIVE HOUSE DISTRICTS IN TRUMP TAX-CUT PUSH

“It’s been very difficult for people to make ends meet. That was a big issue in the campaign, and now we have that opportunity to deliver, as members of Congress, with significant tax reform and tax relief,” Mackenzie added.

CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS TARGETING DOZENS OF HOUSE REPUBLICAN-HELD SEATS IN 2026 MIDTERM BATTLE FOR MAJORITY

Conservative holdouts stalled a procedural vote for reconciliation on Friday, prompting House leaders to return to the Hill late Sunday night to continue negotiations. Meanwhile, Trump is urging House Republicans to pass his “big, beautiful bill” following his high-profile diplomatic trip to the Middle East last week. 

“Ultimately, we do have to get a resolution that satisfies 218 members of Congress. We’re very close to doing that, and this is all part of the process. Nobody should be upset or concerned about any kind of little bumps in the road, because ultimately, we’re going to come together to do what’s right for the American people,” Mackenzie said. 

The conservative advocacy group teamed up with GOP Reps. David Schweikert and Juan Ciscomani of Arizona, Ashley Hinson of Iowa, Tom Barrett of Michigan and Mackenzie of Pennsylvania for door-knocking, phone banks and grassroots organizing in a show of support for Trump’s tax cuts this weekend — telling constituents how their representatives are working to alleviate financial burden for everyday Americans.

AFP shared with Fox News Digital that they reached over 90,000 voters on Saturday. 

“Americans for Prosperity Pennsylvania has been on the ground knocking doors, making calls, hosting events, and organizing demonstrations to educate and show the urgency for Congress to make provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act permanent,” Emily Greene, Americans for Prosperity Pennsylvania State Director, told Fox News Digital. 

“We’re talking with taxpayers and business owners every day who understand that Congress needs to get to work — we can’t risk facing the largest tax hike in American history. After four years of record-high inflation, taxpayers deserve better.”

AFP launched the day of action in conjunction with a $20 million “Protect Prosperity” campaign, which the advocacy group called the single largest investment of any outside group dedicated to preserving the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

And it’s no coincidence that AFP focused its attention on competitive congressional districts in Arizona, Iowa, Michigan and Pennsylvania this weekend, as contentious races are expected in 2026. While Saturday’s day of action was designed to spotlight how Republican representatives are working in Washington, D.C., to boost the economy for everyday Americans back home, it also launched an early messaging campaign.

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As Democrats try to win back control in the House of Representatives in 2026, AFP is getting ahead of Democrats’ likely attacks on vulnerable Republicans’ support for Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” — by telling Republican voters that their representatives are delivering for them. 

President Donald Trump is considering Justice Department official Emil Bove, his former defense attorney, for a U.S. appeals court vacancy — a controversial nomination that would come as he continues to attack so-called “activist” judges for blocking his agenda.

Bove, 44, is among those Trump is considering for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, which covers Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.

There are currently two vacancies on the court — increasing the odds that Bove’s name could be floated by Trump. If confirmed, he would serve a lifetime appointment on the federal bench.

Bove’s name is not the only one being considered, familiar sources say, and conversations are believed to be in the early stages.

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

Prior to his installation at the Justice Department, Bove spent nearly 10 years as a U.S. prosecutor for the Southern District of New York.

He also defended Trump in two of his criminal trials following his first term in the White House.

In each of these roles and at DOJ, Bove’s hard-charging tactics have solidified his reputation as a fierce, loyal and, at times, aggressive leader. 

At the Justice Department, Bove has emerged as the man behind some of the administration’s most contentious actions — prompting some officials to resign rather than carry out his marching orders.

Shortly after taking office, he sent a memo threatening state and city officials with criminal charges or civil penalties if they failed to comply with the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration or slow-walked their orders on enforcement. 

“Federal law prohibits state and local actors from resisting, obstructing and otherwise failing to comply with lawful immigration-related commands,” Bove said in the memo.

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

It was Bove who ordered federal prosecutors for the Southern District of New York to file a motion to dismiss charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. 

That order prompted a string of resignations from personnel, including acting U.S attorney for the section Danielle Sassoon to leave DOJ rather than drop the case.

Bove, along with Edward Sullivan from the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section, eventually signed on to the motion themselves. 

Fox News also reported earlier this year that Bove was behind an exhaustive questionnaire sent to FBI agents detailing their roles in the Jan. 6 investigations. 

Questions ranged from agents’ participation in any grand jury subpoenas to whether the agents worked or responded to leads from another FBI field office or if they worked as a case agent for investigations.

FBI AGENTS GROUP TELLS CONGRESS TO TAKE URGENT ACTION TO PROTECT AGAINST POLITICIZATION

Former Justice Department officials have cited concerns that the probe or any retaliatory measures carried out as a result could have a chilling effect on the work of the FBI, including its more than 52 separate field offices.

The group cited in particular the order from acting then-Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove to terminate the entire FBI senior leadership team and the assistant director in charge of the Washington Field Office. 

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Bove would face a highly uncertain path to confirmation if nominated. The news comes at a time when Democrats have sharply excoriated what they argue are Trump’s attempts to install loyalists to head up the DOJ and FBI. 

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

Harvard University is facing demands from key House Republicans to explain allegations it trained members of a Chinese paramilitary group and worked with Iran-linked researchers.

In a letter sent this week, Reps. John Moolenaar, R-Mich., chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party; Tim Walberg, R-Mich., chairman of the Education and the Workforce Committee; and Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., requested internal documents and communications from Harvard officials detailing the university’s partnerships with foreign adversaries.

The lawmakers raised alarm over Harvard’s repeated hosting and training of members of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC) — a paramilitary organization sanctioned by the U.S. government for its role in the Chinese Communist Party’s genocide against Uyghur Muslims.

According to the letter, Harvard allegedly used Department of Defense funding to partner with Chinese universities on research with potential military applications.

HARVARD UPDATES LAWSUIT AFTER TRUMP CANCELS ADDITIONAL $450M IN FUNDING

Between 2020 and 2024, Harvard researchers also collaborated on at least four projects funded by an agent of the Iranian regime, raising concerns about violations of U.S. sanctions laws.

Harvard’s China Health Partnership reportedly hosted healthcare policy training sessions that included XPCC officials, a fact highlighted by Chinese government outlets.

“We are deeply concerned the services and resources provided through these events may violate U.S. law and could have been deployed by XPCC to further repress the Uyghur people and other ethnic minorities in China,” the lawmakers wrote.

Harvard replied to a request for comment: “We can confirm receipt and will respond to the Chairs’ letter.”

HARVARD PRESIDENT CLAIMS ‘UNFOUNDED RETALIATION’ AMID TRUMP FUNDING FEUD

The letter points to several specific research collaborations: In one case, Harvard researchers received DARPA funding to work with Tsinghua University faculty on zero-indexed materials — technology that could advance artificial intelligence systems.

In another, a Harvard researcher partnered with a Zhejiang University professor on polymer science research funded by the U.S. Air Force, which could be applied to aircraft construction.

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A third project involved shape memory alloys, materials with aerospace applications, researched alongside faculty from Huazhong University, also under Air Force funding.

“Harvard researchers should not be contributing to the military capabilities of a potential adversary,” the letter stated.

The lawmakers also noted that Harvard researchers have routinely worked with Chinese military-linked institutions on dual-use technologies, including microelectronics, AI, and quantum science.

Additionally, the lawmakers raised concerns over Harvard’s organ transplant research involving China-based collaborators, citing growing international scrutiny of China’s forced organ harvesting practices.

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“Harvard trained members of a sanctioned Chinese paramilitary group responsible for genocide, and its researchers partnered with Chinese military universities on DoD-funded research and worked with researchers funded by the Iranian regime,” said Moolenaar.

“These are not isolated incidents — they represent a disturbing pattern that puts U.S. national security at risk. The Select Committee’s investigation will deliver answers, expose the truth, and hold Harvard accountable to the American people.

EXCLUSIVE: United States Attorney for the District of California Bill Essayli is taking major action to crack down on “sanctuary” policies in the Golden State.

He’s launching “Operation Guardian Angel,” which is a task force, made up of assets from ICE, HSI, DEA, FBI, ATF, and Border Patrol, to begin scanning a criminal database every single day to identify arrested illegal aliens in local jurisdictions that DOJ can charge with felony illegal-reentry.

“They’ve made it almost impossible for ICE to do their job, issue detainers and get criminal illegal immigrants out of jails. So what we’re doing instead is we’re going to start issuing warrants,” he told Fox News.

‘DEPORTATION FLIGHTS HAVE BEGUN’ AS TRUMP SENDS ‘STRONG AND CLEAR MESSAGE,’ WHITE HOUSE SAYS

“We’re going to flood the system with warrants for criminal illegal immigration that are in county jails, they can ignore a detainer, but they cannot ignore a criminal arrest warrant,” Essayli continued. 

“As soon as an illegal immigrant is booked into a county jail, we’re reviewing their file. And if they meet the elements of illegal reentry, which is a federal crime, we are filing a complaint and getting an arrest warrant issued before they’re released from state custody.”

Essayli said that the first-of-its-kind program will make the Golden State a “testing ground” for other sanctuary jurisdictions throughout the country, as the administration aims to get illegal aliens with criminal charges and convictions swiftly out of the United States. 

TRUMP GOES TOE-TO-TOE WITH SANCTUARY CITIES OVER DEPORTATION AS ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN SET TO BEGIN

While border crossings have plummeted, the administration is aiming to boost the number of removals. The CBP One app was turned into the CBP Home app, where those in the country illegally can now self-deport with a paid-for flight and an $1,000 stipend once they have been confirmed to leave the country. 

As for illegal aliens in the criminal justice system, the attorney said they plan to file up to 50 warrants a week in his jurisdiction, which covers Los Angeles – there’s already been 350 filed since Trump took office.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE

“They have no choice, they will comply. And if they don’t comply, if they interfere in our ability to arrest a federal felon, they can expect to face consequences for that. So I don’t expect any resistance from the local authorities,” he said.

TRUMP GOES TOE-TO-TOE WITH SANCTUARY CITIES OVER DEPORTATION AS ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN SET TO BEGIN

Felony re-entry was largely not prosecuted during the Biden administration. Essayli says his predecessor, the US Attorney in Los Angeles under Biden, only filed 17 of these cases in two years.

The attorney said transferring from local to federal custody is one of the better ways to get hold of illegal aliens with criminal charges.

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“This is the safest way for us to get criminal illegal immigrants. Get them while they’re still in state custody, where they’ve been searched. They have no weapons, and we can do a safe transfer,” he said. 

Fox News’ Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.

FIRST ON FOX: A key U.S. economic agency is projecting that President Donald Trump‘s tax policy in his “one big, beautiful bill” will lead to increased take-home pay for American families and higher wages for U.S. workers.

The Council of Economic Advisers (CEA), which advises the White House on economic policy, released a report on Monday morning that said, “Taken as a whole, the CEA estimates that the tax cuts in the President’s proposals and the One Big Beautiful Bill will substantially boost investment and GDP relative to if expiring provisions from the [Tax Cuts and Jobs Act] are not extended.”

Congressional Republicans are working to permanently extend Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), as well as implement a list of new, shorter-term Trump tax policies, like eliminating penalties on tipped and overtime wages, while granting seniors an added tax deduction.

Republican leaders have warned that failure to extend TCJA could lead to a tax increase of up to 22% for millions of families.

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

However, extending them could lead to more money in people’s pockets in the long run, the CEA said.

“For workers and families, the CEA forecasts that wages will be about $6,100 to $11,600 higher, with family take-home pay $7,800 to $13,300 higher because of the increase in wages and reduction in tax obligations,” the new analysis said.

The CEA said the added deduction for seniors, meanwhile, would increase the average take-home pay for qualifying seniors by approximately $400 to $450 per year.

If passed, the policies would also boost U.S. investment in the long run from 4.9% to 7.5%, according to the projection, and could save or create as many as 4.2 million full-time equivalent jobs in the long run.

It also estimated that Trump’s “no tax on tips” proposal alone would increase tipped workers’ pay by an average $1,675 per year, while eliminating the tax on overtime wages “will cause overtime workers to increase their overtime hours by 4.7 percent, leading to a 0.2 percent increase in aggregate labor supply while the provision is in effect.”

“As a result, the level of GDP increases by 0.1 to 0.2 percent in the short run. The average overtime worker receives a tax cut of between $1,400 and $1,750 per year,” the projection said.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a Monday morning briefing, “This bill will give Americans the largest tax cuts in our nation’s history. When Republicans pass the bill, Americans will be keeping more of their hard-earned money and taking home much bigger paychecks.”

“If Democrats get their way and the Trump tax cuts are not extended, Americans will face the largest tax hike in history to the tune of $4 trillion. Republicans must not side with Democrats in helping them raise taxes,” Leavitt added.

It comes as Democrats accuse Republicans of trying to gut critical programs like Medicaid and Social Security to secure tax increases for wealthy Americans.

They have pointed to projections like those by the Joint Committee on Taxation, which said people making less than $50,000 per year would get $263 in tax relief, and those making over $1 million would get more than $81,000.

ANTI-ABORTION PROVIDER MEASURE IN TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ COULD SPARK HOUSE GOP REBELLION

However, Republicans have argued they are focused on aiding the working and middle classes with Trump’s tax bill – while not raising taxes on any Americans.

Rep. Mike Haridopolos, R-Fla., also pointed out last week that the Republicans’ bill does not touch the top income tax bracket.

“I kept hearing this idea that we’re cutting taxes on the rich,” Haridopolos said, referring to conversations by his Democratic colleagues on the House floor last week.

“The current rate is 37%. Under our new proposed bill, it’s still 37%. We’re keeping that rate static, we’re not cutting taxes for the rich. What we need to do, of course, is invest in the people again – the best way you do that is offer tax relief.”

Republicans are working to pass Trump’s policies on tax, immigration, energy, defense, and the national debt all in one massive bill via the budget reconciliation process.

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Budget reconciliation lowers the Senate’s threshold for passage from 60 votes to 51, thereby allowing the party in power to skirt the minority – in this case, Democrats – to pass sweeping pieces of legislation, provided they deal with the federal budget, taxation, or the national debt.

House Republicans are hoping to advance Trump’s bill through the House by the end of this week, with a goal of a final bill on the president’s desk by Fourth of July.

New Jersey real estate developer Charles Kushner will be considered by the U.S. Senate on Monday for the ambassadorship to France and Monaco.

Kushner, the father-in-law of Ivanka Trump, was previously pardoned by President Donald Trump for federal tax evasion and Federal Election Commission violations from 2005, during the mogul’s first term.

In 1985, he founded the Kushner Companies and has long been a philanthropist, particularly to Jewish causes and institutions like Yeshiva University in Washington Heights, Manhattan.

He has also donated to St. Barnabas Hospital in Essex County, New Jersey, which has a wing bearing his family name.

TRUMP EXPRESSES ‘ABSOLUTE CONFIDENCE’ AS STEVE WITKOFF IS SWORN IN AS SPECIAL MIDDLE EAST ENVOY

During his May 1 confirmation hearing, Kushner acknowledged his past legal missteps, claiming they sharpened his judgment and better prepared him for both the ambassadorship and life.

“I think that my past mistakes actually make me… better in my values to really make me more qualified to do this job,” he told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Kushner, who just celebrated his 71st birthday, was nominated in November after Trump called him a “tremendous business leader, philanthropist, & dealmaker, who will be a strong advocate representing our country & its interests.”

TRUMP TAKES WELL-EARNED VICTORY LAP FOR MIDDLE EAST PEACE TRIUMPHS

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“He was recognized as New Jersey Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young, appointed to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council, & served as a commissioner, & chairman, of the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, as well as on the boards of our top institutions, including NYU,” Trump said.

“Congratulations to Charlie, his wonderful wife Seryl, their 4 children, & 14 grandchildren. His son, Jared, worked closely with me in the White House, in particular on Operation Warp Speed, Criminal Justice Reform, & the Abraham Accords.”

Trump added that Kushner will help strengthen America’s partnership with “our oldest ally and one of our greatest.” 

Former Democratic nominee for vice president, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, sparked a social media uproar over the weekend after he invoked Nazi-era language to criticize President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda.

“Some would say, ‘Boy, this is getting way too political for a commencement address,'” Walz told students at the University of Minnesota law school during a commencement address on Saturday. “But I would argue, I wouldn’t be honoring my oath if I didn’t address this head on.”

“I’m gonna start with the flashing red light—Donald Trump’s modern-day Gestapo is scooping folks up off the streets. They’re in unmarked vans, wearing masks, being shipped off to foreign torture dungeons. No chance to mount a defense. Not even a chance to kiss a loved one goodbye. Just grabbed up by masked agents, shoved into those vans and disappeared.”

Walz also described Trump as a “tyrant” and told students they “are graduating into a genuine emergency.”

MINNESOTA REPUBLICAN ANNOUNCES CAMPAIGN FOR GOVERNOR, VOWS TO ‘FIX’ WHAT TIM WALZ ‘BROKE’

Walz’s comments drew strong pushback from conservatives online, including directly from the Trump administration, taking issue with comparing deportations of criminal illegal immigrants with the Nazi secret police force of the 1930s and 1940s. 

“This vile anti-American language can only be construed as inciting insurrection and violence,” White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller posted on X. 

“It is absolutely sickening to compare ICE law enforcement agents to the Gestapo,” the official account for the Department of Homeland Security posted on X. “Attacks and demonization of ICE and our partners is wrong. ICE officers are now facing a 413% increase in assaults. Our message is clear: DO NOT come to this country illegally. If you do, we will arrest you, deport you and you will never return.”

WALZ ‘VERY PESSIMISTIC’ ON DEMOCRATS RETAKING THE SENATE

“Disgraced loser @GovTimWalz thinks ICE agents are the ‘modern day Gestapo,’” the White House rapid response account posted on X, before listing examples of violent criminals apprehended by ICE in Minnesota in recent weeks. 

“The Department of Homeland Security has reported a more than 500% increase in attacks and assaults on ICE agents,” Republican communicator Matt Whitlock posted on X. “Tim Walz knows exactly what he’s doing here.”

“Dude can never resist an opportunity to show off his TDS,” Townhall columnist Dustin Grage posted on X. 

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Some, including a Republican running for governor against Walz, took the opportunity to highlight Walz’s own record.

“Don’t forget that it was Tim Walz who locked down our state for 15 months, established a tip line for people to report on their neighbors, closed our schools and sent small business owners to jail,” gubernatorial candidate Kendall Qualls posted on X.

“Tim Walz is the real tyrant and modern-day Gestapo.”

Last year, the Biden White House expressed outrage over a report claiming that Trump used the term “gestapo” in a closed-door meeting, FOX 59 reported, explaining that it was “despicable” and “insulting.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Walz’s office for comment. 

Walz, who recently explained that he was chosen to run with Harris because of his ability to “code talk to White guys watching football,” drew similar criticism last month, when he likened Trump’s immigration agenda to communist Russian “gulags.”

A Tennessee congressman viewed documents relating to the 2023 Covenant school shooting for the first time, praising the Director Kash Patel-led FBI for upholding the Trump administration’s “radical transparency” promise.

Rep. John Rose told Fox News Digital he was offered full access to the documents, including the writings of suspect Audrey Hale, a transgender woman who was a former student and killed three children and three adults on March 27 of that year.

The GOP lawmaker said he sent a letter to the FBI the month after the shooting and received a response in November telling him to effectively seek what he was looking for from the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department.

He contrasted that with Patel’s FBI’s quick turnaround in accessing the documents.

COVENANT SCHOOL TRANS SHOOTER PLOTTED NASHVILLE ATTACK FOR YEARS, KEPT NOTEBOOKS AND PLANS: FINAL REPORT

“They are primarily comprised of the writings and work of the perpetrator of the Covenant School shooting. But they do provide a great deal of insight and I think confirm some of the suspicions that I’ve had all along,” Rose said.

“We really never received a response [regarding a document inquiry] from the Metro National Police Department (MNPD) one way or the other… We got a letter that was really non-responsive and basically indicated they would not release the information to us. So it’s remarkable that in just a little over 40 days that new FBI Director Kash Patel has made this information available for us to look at.”

Many of the documents have been under seal and are the subject of legal battles in the Volunteer State.

Nashville Chancery Court Chancellor I’ashea Myles ruled in 2024 that much of Hale’s writings are protected by copyright law, which trumps the state’s records statute.

An official with the MNPD told Fox News Digital there was also concern in the courts and among law enforcement that the detailed writings could inspire copycat violence.

“This investigation was meticulous and ran through this year and at the conclusion of the investigation we issued the 48-page summary,” the official told Fox News Digital on Thursday. 

“There exists to this day the Chancery Court, an order that restricts the shooter’s writing from being publicly released [but] through the 48-page summary, we’ve wanted all to know what our findings were in this mass shooting case; in the days after our officers responded so bravely into the building to stop the threat,” the official added.

NASHVILLE SCHOOL SHOOTING MANIFESTO: WHY KILLERS WRITE ABOUT MOTIVES

The MNPD said they were aware the FBI was contemplating releasing some of the material and echoed copycat-related concerns – and that the bureau understood those reservations and redacted parts of what has been witnessed by Rose.

However, Rose said that after Patel allowed him to view the documents, he is “more assured than ever” that the information within should be made public so that people can better understand the tragedy.

He disputed claims that the MNPD has been entirely forthright, saying, “I think they’ve just stonewalled… and frankly I think that makes it impossible for policymakers, legislators to take any action with respect to the incidents around this heinous act that happened back in March of 2023,” he said.

“We simply can’t be expected to take action when we don’t understand the nature of this crime. And so the public is entitled to that information, but as policymakers, I feel like we simply cannot be expected to make a policy based on innuendo and supposition when the information is available.”

Read the Nashville police report here.

“And had this been any other significant crime of this nature, including a mass shooting, we know from historic precedent that virtually all of this information would have been released in the normal course for public inspection and consideration.”

As for sensitivity, he said that there is “tough information” in what he has seen and that he has sympathy for the victims of the shooting, but that in order to protect society, the information currently being held should be accessible to better understand the perpetrator and more.

MNPD denied any stonewalling allegation and cited the Chancery Court order in its response.

Rose did, however, appear to support some of the redactions, suggesting that a careful review process could allow documents from and about the shooter to be used in understanding the “heinous crime,” identifying others who may be responsible and examining how society may have missed chances to prevent it.

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Nashville police also released their final report on the shooting, first reported at the time by Fox News Digital.

Rather than a highly anticipated manifesto, the report found that Hale left behind numerous notebooks, art books and computer documents about plans to commit the attack and gain notoriety, partly inspired by the Columbine school shooting in 1999.

Fox News Digital’s Michael Ruiz and Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.