NationalWatch

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.

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“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.

President Donald Trump is set to call Russian President Vladimir Putin in an effort to end the “bloodbath” war with Ukraine after peace talks resulted in a prisoner swap over the weekend. 

The call is expected at 10 a.m. EST. Trump said he would speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and members of NATO shortly after. 

“The subjects of the call will be, stopping the ‘bloodbath’ that is killing, on average, more than 5,000 Russian and Ukrainian soldiers a week, and trade,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

“Hopefully it will be a productive day, a ceasefire will take place, and this very violent war, a war that should have never happened, will end,” Trump added. “God bless us all!!!” 

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

Just hours ahead of the call, Russia launched its largest drone attack on Ukraine yet, firing 273 exploding drones and decoys targeting the Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions, according to Ukraine’s air force. Of those, 88 were intercepted and 128 lost, likely being electronically jammed.  

Russia’s defense ministry said Monday it had downed 35 Ukrainian drones overnight. 

Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio also met with Zelenskyy in Rome on Sunday for ongoing peace talks. 

On Friday, Russian and Ukrainian officials took part in direct talks in Turkey for the first time since the early days of the war. 

Initially, there was hope that Zelenskyy and Putin would sit down with each other. The Ukrainian leader said he would attend if Putin showed up. However, after the Kremlin announced they would be sending an envoy, Zelenskyy appointed his defense minister to lead the delegation. 

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

The two sides each agreed to release around 1,000 prisoners of war “in the coming days,” though they failed to reach agreement on peace. Zelenskyy attributed the lack of a breakthrough to Putin sending low-level officials to the talks. 

“Everyone could see that the Russian delegation in Istanbul was of a very low level. None of them were people who actually make decisions in Russia. Still, I sent our team,” Zelenskyy wrote in an X post on Friday. 

Putin said Sunday any peace deal would need to “eliminate the causes that triggered this crisis” and “guarantee Russia’s security.”

Trump, meanwhile, suggested peace would not be brokered without him. 

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“Nothing’s going to happen until Putin and I get together,” Trump told reporters on Thursday.

Ukraine has called for a 30-day, unconditional ceasefire. Putin, however, has suggested that Ukraine might use the time to rearm and mobilize. 

House Republicans cleared a major hurdle late last night, finally advancing the “big, beautiful bill” out of the Budget Committee after a hiccup Friday afternoon. 

The bill is now set to go before the House Rules Committee – which is the gateway to the floor – on Wednesday. The House could vote on the overall package on Thursday. The goal is to have this wrapped up by Memorial Day. 

TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ PASSES KEY HOYSE HURDLE AFTER GOP REBEL MUTINY

It’s about the math. House Republicans have little turning radius to approve the bill due to their narrow majority. Questions still remain among some conservatives about green energy tax credits, work requirements for Medicaid and a deduction for SALT – an acronym for “state and local taxes.” That means there will be a lot of massaging of the bill over the next few days. Expect some changes via a “manager’s amendment” before the Rules Committee on Wednesday. 

JOE BIDEN DIGNOSED WITH ‘AGGRESSIVE FORM’ OF PROSTATE CANCER WITH METASTASIS TO THE BONE

Some Republicans will need verbal or handshake assurances on other provisions from the White House and GOP leadership before voting “yes.”

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And, if push comes to shove, the president himself will have to get involved. A White House statement on Friday said that the administration “expects” all Republicans to vote “yes.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer suggested that the Department of Government Efficiency may be at least partly responsible for a Mexican navy tall ship crashing into the Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday night.

Schumer made the claim in a press release on Sunday, saying he had been briefed on the details of the deadly crash, which left two people dead and over a dozen more injured. Schumer argued that a U.S. Coast Guard system may have been operating at partial capacity due to a DOGE hiring freeze at the Department of Homeland Security, but the Coast Guard itself says the system was “fully functional during the incident.”

“We know that the Trump administration has been meddling in U.S. Coast Guard operations, from staffing to command and comms, and I have the general sense of a DOGE dysfunction in parts of the Coast Guard, to put it mildly,” Schumer wrote in a statement. “After being fully briefed on last night’s Brooklyn Bridge accident, one thing is very clear. There are many more questions than answers as to how the accident occurred and whether it could have been prevented.”

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

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

“There are indications that this service called the VTS may not have been fully or adequately functional in light of that hiring freeze. We don’t know the answer to that question. We need answers. If this were the case, Brooklyn Bridge accident could be a national harbinger, demanding immediate attention,” Schumer said.

“The current hiring freeze at the Department of Homeland Security, DHS, which the Coast Guard is part of, may have limited the ability of the Coast Guard to fully staff up at the VTS, the vehicle traffic service, the shore-wide system that provides quote air traffic control for the seas, especially in congested areas and restricted waters like New York Harbor,” he added.

The Coast Guard rejected Schumer’s claim in a statement of its own. Furthermore, there were no other ships involved in Saturday’s crash that would have involved the VTS.

AT LEAST 2 DEAD AFTER MEXICAN NAVY SAILING SHIP COLLIDES WITH BROOKLYN BRIDGE IN DRAMATIC NYC CRASH

The Coast Guard said VTS was “fully functional during the incident and operating in accordance with established procedures to manage commercial traffic and facilitate safe navigation,” according to CBS News.

“Our response included launching a crew from Station New York, establishing a temporary safety zone, and coordinating with NYPD, FDNY, and NYC DOT,” they added.

The Coast Guard did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announced Sunday it was launching a “go-team” to the Brooklyn Bridge the crash.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams, said the Mexican navy tall ship Cuauhtémoc “lost power and crashed into the Brooklyn Bridge.”

“At this time, of the 277 on board, 19 sustained injuries, 2 of which remain in critical condition, and 2 more have sadly passed away from their injuries,” the mayor wrote on X.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said she regretted the passing of two crew members who “lost their lives in the unfortunate accident at the port of New York.”

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“Our solidarity and support go out to their families,” she wrote at 1:15 a.m. on X. “The Secretariat of the Navy, with the support of local authorities, is attending to the injured. The Ambassador of Mexico to the United States and staff from the Consulate General of Mexico in New York are assisting the Secretariat of the Navy.”

Fox News’ Danielle Wallace and Greg Wehner contributed to this report

Former President Barack Obama, former President Bill Clinton, and President Donald Trump have each commented on the grim news of President Joe Biden’s cancer diagnosis.

“Michelle and I are thinking of the entire Biden family. Nobody has done more to find breakthrough treatments for cancer in all its forms than Joe, and I am certain he will fight this challenge with his trademark resolve and grace. We pray for a fast and full recovery,” Obama noted in posts on social media.

Biden served as vice president during Obama’s White House tenure from early 2009 through early 2017.

JOE BIDEN DIAGNOSED WITH ‘AGGRESSIVE FORM’ OF PROSTATE CANCER WITH METASTASIS TO THE BONE

He was diagnosed with prostate cancer last week, according to a statement his personal office released on Sunday.

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

President Donald Trump also commented on the news.

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

“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 successful recovery,” he noted in a post on Truth Social. 

The Clintons both commented as well.

“My friend Joe Biden’s always been a fighter. Hillary and I are rooting for him and are keeping him, Jill, and the entire family in our thoughts,” former President Bill Clinton noted.

“I’m thinking of the Bidens as they take on cancer, a disease they’ve done so much to try to spare other families from. Wishing you a speedy, full recovery,” former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who lost the 2016 presidential election to Donald Trump, said in social media posts.

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

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Biden, who left office earlier this year on Jan. 20, is 82 years old. 

Fox News’ Peter Doocy contributed to this report

President Donald Trump’s “one big, beautiful bill” survived a key hurdle in the House of Representatives on Sunday night, putting it one step closer to a chamber-wide vote later this week.

It comes after a rebellion by four House conservatives upended plans to advance the bill on Friday morning.

Lawmakers on the House Budget Committee were summoned back to Washington for a 10 p.m. meeting to vote on advancing the legislation. It passed the panel in a nearly party-line vote, 17 to 16, with four Republicans voting “present.”

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., made a surprise appearance in the committee room shortly before the vote began, telling reporters, “We think this is going to go well tonight. We’re about to find out.”

He said there would likely be “minor modifications” to the final bill before disappearing into a back room with the four GOP holdouts who sunk the bill on Friday morning.

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

Johnson spoke to reporters again just before the vote began.

“I think what is about to happen here is that every member, every Republican member, will give a vote that allows us to proceed forward, and we count that as a big win tonight,” he said.

The speaker said he expects to have “productive discussions” with various factions of the House GOP, adding, “I am absolutely convinced we’re going to get this in final form and pass it in accordance with our original deadline.” 

It comes after a rebellion by four conservative House Freedom Caucus members on the committee blocked the bill from advancing on Friday, with the fiscal hawks seeking assurances that stricter crackdowns on Medicaid and green energy subsidies in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) would be in the final bill before a House-wide vote.

The four conservatives voted “present” in an effort to move discussions forward on Sunday night.

Advancing the legislation through the House Budget Committee is a largely procedural move. Lawmakers have signaled that some changes will be introduced as amendments in the House Rules Committee, the final gatekeeper before a House-wide vote, sometime early this week.

Notably, two of the Budget Committee fiscal hawks who demanded further changes – Reps. Chip Roy, R-Texas, and Ralph Norman, R-S.C. – also sit on the House Rules Committee.

“In an effort to move this bill forward, I’m excited about the changes we’ve made. And I will vote present,” Norman said as voting began.

The House Budget Committee passed a framework earlier this year with “instructions” for various other committees to enact Trump policies under their jurisdictions. 

Following House and Senate-wide votes on their frameworks, House committees began crafting those policies, which have now been put back together into the massive bill the House Budget Committee advanced on Sunday night.

BROWN UNIVERSITY IN GOP CROSSHAIRS AFTER STUDENT’S DOGE-LIKE EMAIL KICKS OFF FRENZY

Republicans are working to pass Trump’s agenda via the budget reconciliation process, which allows the party controlling both Congress and the White House to pass vast pieces of legislation while completely sidelining the minority – in this case, Democrats.

It does so by lowering the Senate’s threshold for passage from 60 votes to 51, lining up with the House’s own simple majority. The legislation must adhere to a specific set of rules, however, including only items related to federal spending, tax, and the national debt.

Trump is having Republicans use the legislation to enact his campaign promises on tax cuts, immigration, energy, defense, and raising the debt limit.

And while quelling Friday’s GOP mutiny is a victory for House Republican leaders, lawmakers will still have to sit through high-stakes negotiations on any changes made to the bill before the House Rules Committee considers it.

Conservatives are opposed to aspects of the legislation’s crackdown on Medicaid, which Republicans have said they are only trimming for waste, fraud, and abuse. But Medicaid work requirements for able-bodied people are not set to kick in until 2029, and conservatives have argued that it was a large window of time for those changes to be undone, among other concerns.

They’re also pushing for a more aggressive effort to repeal green energy tax subsidies passed in the former Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). 

The respective pushes have pitted them against moderates wary of significant Medicaid cuts, and Republican lawmakers whose districts have businesses that have benefited from the tax relief.

Meanwhile, moderates in high-cost-of-living areas have also pushed for larger state and local tax (SALT) deduction caps, which red state Republicans have largely dismissed as subsidies to high-tax blue states.

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The Republicans in those seats, however, have argued that it’s an existential issue for their districts, where GOP victories were critical to winning and holding the House majority.

But even after it passes the House, Republicans there likely won’t be done with the “big, beautiful bill” – Republican senators have already signaled they are likely going to make changes to the bill.

Johnson said on Fox News Sunday that House and Senate leaders were “in close coordination” on the final product, adding, “we hope that they don’t make many modifications to it.”

Any changes will have to go through the House again; identical bills must pass both chambers before getting signed into law by Trump.

Republican leaders have said they hope to get a bill on the president’s desk by Fourth of July.

As the Trump administration has moved to end protections for thousands of Afghan nationals, faith leaders and advocates are sounding the alarm over the potential deportation of Christian converts, who, they say, face severe persecution under Taliban rule.

Pastor Behnam Rasooli, known as Pastor Ben, leads the Oklahoma Khorasan Church in Oklahoma City, a congregation primarily composed of Afghan Christian refugees. In an interview with Fox News Digital, he shared harrowing accounts of the dangers he says his Christian community faces.

“If any of these Afghan Christians are deported back to Afghanistan, the first thing that will happen is the husbands will be killed, the wives will be taken as sex slaves,” Pastor Ben stated. “If they don’t kill them, they’ll put them in prison and beat them every single night.”

The Department of Homeland Security officially ended Temporary Protected Status (TPS)  for Afghan nationals, potentially forcing more than 9,000 individuals to return to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.

EXCLUSIVE: AS AFGHAN CHRISTIANS FACE DEPORTATION, FAITH LEADERS URGE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TO RECONSIDER

Department of Homeland (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem cited an “improved security situation” and a stabilizing economy as justification.

“This administration is returning TPS to its original, temporary intent,” Noem said. “We’ve reviewed the conditions in Afghanistan with our interagency partners, and they do not meet the requirements for a TPS designation.”

Afghans’ protected status is set to expire on May 20, with the program formally ending on July 12. 

Noem added that terminating the designation aligns with the administration’s broader goal of rooting out fraud and national security threats in the immigration system.

TPS allows foreign nationals from countries facing armed conflict, natural disasters or other emergencies to live and work legally in the U.S. Then-President Joe Biden had originally designated Afghanistan for TPS following the Taliban’s takeover in 2021.

Among those at risk are members of Pastor Ben’s congregation, many of whom he says undertook perilous journeys to reach the U.S. legally. He recounted the story of a group that he claimed traveled from Brazil to Mexico, including a 76-year-old woman and a 7-month-old girl, waiting ten months in a Mexican church sanctuary for approval to cross the border legally via the CBP One app.

“They didn’t have food for weeks, they didn’t have water for weeks, but they were willing to wait, face all those difficulties, to come to the United States with legal status,” he said. “Now, with the new administration, we heard that those parolees are being revoked. They’re not even giving work permits.”

CHRISTIANS IN AFGHANISTAN FACE ROUTINE TORTURE, PERSECUTION FROM FAMILY MEMBERS: WATCHDOG GROUPS

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House about the pastor’s concerns and received the following response:

“In tandem with its failed Afghanistan withdrawal, the Biden administration illegally paroled tens of thousands of Afghans into the U.S., plus hundreds of thousands of other aliens. Parole, a temporary benefit, is granted case by case for urgent humanitarian reasons or public benefit—it is not a pathway to permanent residence or citizenship. Afghans lacking legal grounds to stay and fearing persecution on protected grounds may apply for asylum and have the courts adjudicate their cases,” said White House spokesman Kush Desai to Fox News Digital.

Advocacy groups, including Help The Persecuted, have petitioned Noem to recognize Afghanistan as a Country of Particular Concern, and to allow Afghan Christians and minorities who have documented persecution due to religion or belief to have TPS while their asylum claims are properly vetted and processed.

The petition stresses the Taliban’s active persecution of Christians, including arrests at border crossings, torture in detention and the enforcement of laws that make any practice of Christianity illegal.

Pastor Ben urges fellow Christians to stand in solidarity with their persecuted brothers and sisters.

“They need us today to be their voice,” he said. “We have the freedom; they do not. We have all the comfort; they do not. But all they want is the church to be part of it.”

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He also addressed President Trump directly: “Mr. President, I fully support your deportation plan because we do not want criminals to live in the United States, but we have to be aware that among those people that you want to deport, some are not criminals. Some are people that are at the risk of being killed, being imprisoned, losing their wives, losing their kids.”

“Please, let’s not let this happen to them,” said Pastor Ben. “Let’s keep the American Dream alive.”

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

House lawmakers are being summoned to Capitol Hill late Sunday night as Republicans’ self-imposed deadline to pass President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” looms just days away. 

The House Budget Committee is meeting at 10 p.m. for a vote on advancing the wide-ranging legislation toward a chamber-wide vote later this week.

Initial plans to advance the bill on Friday morning were upended in a mutiny by four members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus – Reps. Chip Roy, R-Texas, Ralph Norman, R-S.C., Josh Brecheen, R-Okla., and Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., all joined Democrats in voting against the bill.

The fiscal hawks are opposed to aspects of the legislation’s crackdown on Medicaid, which Republicans have said they are only trimming for waste, fraud, and abuse. But Medicaid work requirements for able-bodied people are not set to kick in until 2029, and conservatives have argued that it was a large window of time for those changes to be undone, among other concerns.

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

They’re also pushing for a more aggressive effort to repeal green energy tax subsidies passed in the former Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). That push has pitted them against Republican lawmakers whose districts have businesses that have benefited from the tax relief.

Meanwhile House GOP leaders and the White House have held the bill up as the most significant fiscal reform in decades.

Holdouts were expected to negotiate with GOP leaders in Congress and the White House through the weekend.

“I really need to see something in writing. You know, we’ve talked enough. They know where we are. And you know, before, if it’s just if it’s the same old thing, that we can’t get [a majority], we’re going to have to pretty much stick with what we have, I’ve got a problem,” Norman told Fox News Digital on Sunday morning

He said he and other critics of the legislation were asked to meet with House GOP leaders at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday afternoon.

BROWN UNIVERSITY IN GOP CROSSHAIRS AFTER STUDENT’S DOGE-LIKE EMAIL KICKS OFF FRENZY

Republicans are working to pass Trump’s agenda via the budget reconciliation process, which allows the party controlling both Congress and the White House to pass vast pieces of legislation while completely sidelining the minority – in this case, Democrats.

It does so by lowering the Senate’s threshold for passage from 60 votes to 51, lining up with the House’s own simple majority. The legislation must adhere to a specific set of rules, however, including only items related to federal spending, tax, and the national debt.

Both the House and Senate are dealing with razor-thin margins. That extends to the House Budget Committee as well, where Republicans can only lose two of their own to still advance the legislation.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., was confident that Republicans could overcome their differences and stick to their timeline during an appearance on Fox News Sunday.

“The plan is to move it to the Rules Committee by midweek, and to the House floor by the end of the week, as we meet our initial, our original Memorial Day deadline,” Johnson said.

Johnson said Republicans also “have got to compromise” on Medicaid work requirements, adding he was in contact with states “to make sure what the earliest possible date is.”

“This is the biggest spending reduction in three decades, maybe longer,” Johnson said.

Norman signaled that significant compromise was going to have to be made on leaders’ parts.

“Let’s say they want it to kick in, in a year or six months. It ought to be now, but we’ll look at that. We’re not inflexible,” he said. “But the main thing I want to relay, this isn’t the end-all-catch-all-be-all. Nobody would disagree that the tax cuts are good policy, and nobody would disagree with President Trump’s wanting to phase out Green New Deal scam credits. Anyone we want to do it on day one. So we’re carrying out his policies.”

Meanwhile Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought, a close ally of Roy’s, took to X in support of the bill after it failed Friday.

“Critics have attacked the House’s One Big Beautiful reconciliation bill on fiscal grounds, but I think they are profoundly wrong. It is truly historic,” Vought said. “The bill satisfies the very red-line test that House fiscal hawks laid out a few weeks ago that stated that the cost of any tax cut could be paid for with $2.5 trillion in assumed economic growth, but the rest had to be covered with savings from reform.”

Trump blasted the people holding up the legislation as grandstanders in a Truth Social post Friday.

Those rebels and their allies, however, have argued that they are only pushing to fully enact Trump’s agenda.

“He campaigned on cutting the Green New Deal. But it’s really a scam…. But this bill to postpone phase-out for seven years, it’s just money we don’t have,” Norman said.

Economic Policy Innovation Center founder Paul Winfree wrote on X Saturday, “Several of the Members of Congress negotiating on the OBBB this weekend are trying to make it even better. In fact, there is a significant group that has been fighting all along to make sure that [Trump] gets the biggest win possible.”

Moving ahead with Sunday night’s vote is a sign of confidence by House GOP leaders, but it’s not yet clear how it will play out. In addition to the Medicaid and IRA differences, Republicans must also reconcile current disagreements with blue state GOP lawmakers over State and Local tax (SALT) deduction caps. 

The legislation raised the current $10,000 cap to $30,000, but a handful of blue state Republicans rejected the compromise as insufficient.

Meanwhile, conservatives in redder districts are demanding deeper pay cuts if the SALT deduction cap was raised.

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SALT Caucus member Rep. Nick LaLota, R-N.Y., suggested raising taxes on the highest earners to offset the cost – it would likely be an uphill battle to enact, though some conservatives have also signaled openness to the idea.

“The One Big Beautiful Bill has stalled—and it needs wind in its sails. Allowing the top tax rate to expire—returning from 37% to 39.6% for individuals earning over $609,350 and married couples earning over $731,200—breathes $300 billion of new life into the effort,” LaLota wrote on X Saturday.

“It’s a fiscally responsible move that reflects the priorities of the new Republican Party: protect working families, address the deficit, fix the unfair SALT cap, and safeguard programs like Medicaid and SNAP—without raising taxes on the middle class.”

President Donald Trump said he and the first lady were “saddened” after learning that former President Joe Biden was diagnosed with prostate cancer, wishing him a “fast and successful recovery.”

“Melania and I are saddened to hear about Joe Biden’s recent medical diagnosis,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. “We extend our warmest and best wishes to Jill and the family, and we wish Joe a fast and successful recovery.”

Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., also weighed in on the former president’s diagnosis.

In a post on X, Trump Jr. shared another post that read, “BREAKING: Joe Biden has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Politics aside, we wish him a speedy recovery!”

JOE BIDEN DIAGNOSED WITH ‘AGGRESSIVE FORM’ OF PROSTATE CANCER WITH METASTASIS TO THE BONE

“Agreed 100%,” he wrote on top of the post.

Biden’s office confirmed on Sunday that he was diagnosed with an “aggressive form” of prostate cancer.

“Last week, President Joe Biden was seen for a new finding of a prostate nodule after experiencing increasing urinary symptoms,” Biden’s team shared in a statement. “On Friday, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, characterized by a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5) with metastasis to the bone.” 

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

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Biden, 82, is the oldest living U.S. president.

Fox News Digital’s Stepheny Price contributed to this report.

Singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, also known as “The Boss,” ignored a question regarding his ongoing feud with President Donald Trump, while signing autographs for fans.

Sporting a Deus Ex-Machina jacket and Ray-Ban sunglasses, “The Boss” worked his way down a line of fans hoping to get his signature on a piece of memorabilia when he was asked if he had a message for Trump.

Rather than answer, Springsteen could be seen chuckling for a moment before raising his hand, and then moving onto the next fan.

Springsteen tore into Trump on Wednesday during the first of a series of concerts in Manchester, England.

TRUMP REIGNITES FEUD WITH TAYLOR SWIFT: ‘NO LONGER HOT’ BECAUSE OF ME

“The mighty E Street Band is here tonight to call upon the righteous power of art, of music, of rock and roll in dangerous times,” he told the crowd. “In my home, the America I love, the America I’ve written about, that has been a beacon of hope and liberty for 250 years, is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration.”

The crowd responded with applause when Springsteen continued to pontificate his stance on the current administration.

“Tonight, we ask all who believe in democracy and the best of our American experiment to rise with us, raise your voices against authoritarianism and let freedom ring!” Springsteen added in a video posted on his YouTube page.

TRUMP CALLS SPRINGSTEEN ‘HIGHLY OVERRATED’ AFTER ROCKER LABELS HIM ‘TREASONOUS’ OVERSEAS

Trump responded by slamming Springsteen and calling him “highly overrated” on Friday.

“I see that Highly Overrated Bruce Springsteen goes to a Foreign Country to speak badly about the President of the United States,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. “Never liked him, never liked his music, or his Radical Left Politics and, importantly, he’s not a talented guy — Just a pushy, obnoxious JERK, who fervently supported Crooked Joe Biden, a mentally incompetent FOOL, and our WORST EVER President, who came close to destroying our Country.”

The president continued in his post, saying “Sleepy Joe didn’t have a clue as to what he was doing, but Springsteen is ‘dumb as a rock,’ and couldn’t see what was going on, or could he (which is even worse!)? This dried out ‘prune’ of a rocker (his skin is all atrophied!) ought to KEEP HIS MOUTH SHUT until he gets back into the Country, that’s just ‘standard fare.’ Then we’ll all see how it goes for him!”

Springsteen declared last year that “I’ll be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz” in the presidential election. Harris ended up losing the race to Trump.

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The “Born in the USA” singer-songwriter, in an Instagram video endorsing Harris, attacked Trump as “the most dangerous candidate for President in my lifetime” with a “disdain for the sanctity of our constitution, the sanctity of democracy, the sanctity of the rule of law, and the sanctity of the peaceful transfer of power.”

Fox News Digital’s Greg Norman, Lindsay Kornick and Brooke Singman contributed to this report.

Sympathetic messages rolled in from across the country after former President Joe Biden’s team announced that the 82-year-old was diagnosed with an “aggressive” form of prostate cancer.

In a statement, Biden’s team said that the former politician “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 continued. “The President and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians.”

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

President Donald Trump reacted on Truth Social, writing: 

“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 successful recovery.”

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed her support in a post on X.

“I’m thinking of the Bidens as they take on cancer, a disease they’ve done so much to try to spare other families from,” she wrote. “Wishing you a speedy, full recovery.”

In a social media post, Meghan McCain expressed sadness over the news. Her father, former Senator John McCain, died of cancer in 2018.

“Cancer is the absolute worst,” McCain wrote. “It is hell. It is incredibly difficult for any family, anywhere that has to deal with it.”

“Wishing nothing but healing, prayers, light and strength to President Biden and his family,” she added. “I don’t believe times like these are appropriate for politics.”

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., also expressed sympathy for Biden, writing that she was “sorry to see this news.”

VIRGINIA REP. GERRY CONNOLLY ANNOUNCES CANCER DIAGNOSIS 2 DAYS AFTER WINNING RE-ELECTION

“Cancer is truly awful,” the Georgia congresswoman wrote. “My Dad passed away in 2021 with cancer. Prays [sic] for Joe Biden and his family.”

California Governor Gavin Newsrom wrote that he was “sending strength, healing and prayers [Biden’s] way.”

“Our hearts are with President Biden and his entire family right now,” Newsom said. “A man of dignity, strength, and compassion like his deserves to live a long and beautiful life.”

In another X post, Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., called the reports of Biden’s cancer “horrible news.”

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“Everyone please say a prayer for President Biden and his family,” Burchett said.

Fox News Digital’s Stepheny Price and Peter Doocy contributed to this report.

The release of audio recordings of former President Joe Biden‘s interview with special counsel Robert Hur have intensified criticism of the administration’s use of an autopen on official presidential orders and pardons.

The damning tapes, which bring Biden’s alarming mental decline into sharp relief, were kept under wraps by Biden Attorney General Merrick Garland. Now that Biden’s cognitive problems have been bared, some are calling for Garland to face prosecution for rejecting Congressional demands to release the tapes when he ran the Department of Justice (DOJ).

“Key decisions made in the final days of the Biden presidency, including using autopens to issue blanket pardons for the Biden Crime Family, must be fully examined. There are serious concerns that President Biden lacked the mental capacity to authorize those actions,” House Oversight Committee Chair Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., posted to X on Saturday. 

Axios released hours of Biden’s interview with the special counsel’s office on Saturday – a year and a half after the interviews were held across a two-day period in the fall of 2023. The recordings showed the former president tripping over his words, slurring sentences, taking long pauses between answers and struggling to remember key moments in his life, including the year his son Beau Biden died of cancer. 

The recordings have further bolstered conservative outrage stretching back years that Biden’s mental acuity had cratered and that the Delaware Democrat who had served in the Senate for decades had become a “shadow” of himself and was unfit to lead the country as president. 

CRITICISMS MOUNT THAT BIDEN IS A ‘SHADOW’ OF HIMSELF AFTER DISASTROUS DEBATE: ‘NOT THE SAME MAN’ FROM VP ERA

The flurry of pardons Biden allegedly signed by autopen in the waning days of his administration included ones for his son Hunter Biden, his siblings and their spouses, retired Gen. Mark Milley, Dr. Anthony Fauci, and members and staff of the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, told Fox News Digital in a phone interview on Sunday that he has long sounded the alarm over the validity of Biden’s pardons, as many lacked specifically what charges an individual was protected against. Instead, many of the pardons outlined blanket protections, such as preemptively pardoning Milley and Fauci from potential prosecution and blanket pardons for unidentified members of Congress who served on the J6 select committee. 

“I’ve been long of the position that the pardons, many of the pardons, are not valid based on the fact that they don’t pardon anything. It’s just a pardon for conduct that’s unnamed … it’s further confirmation that the pardons are not valid,” said Fitton, who had sued for the release of the audio recordings. 

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

“A competent president would say, ‘How is it I could pardon someone for nothing?’” he continued. 

Fitton added that “more importantly, Biden should still be prosecuted” after he was “mollycoddled” by the Biden DOJ during the investigation into the documents he possessed from his days in the Senate and when he served as vice president. 

“The audio shows he was mollycoddled by the Justice Department, you know, because Hur was working for the Justice Department. … There’s an argument that the records he had as vice president, he could have. But that wasn’t the position of Justice Department. But certainly he didn’t have the right to have those records from his days of the Senate,” Fitton said. 

President Donald Trump railed on Truth Social that the release of the audio recordings revealed a “bigger scandal” about the use of an autopen under the Biden White House. 

“Whoever had control of the “AUTOPEN” is looking to be a bigger and bigger scandal by the moment,” Trump posted to Truth Social on Friday.

TRUMP CLAIMS BIDEN PARDONS ARE ‘VOID,’ ALLEGING THEY WERE SIGNED VIA AUTOPEN

He added: “THIS IS WHY THE UNSELECT COMMITTEE OF POLITICAL THUGS, WHO WERE GIVEN A FULL AND COMPLETE PARDON BY THE PERSON WHO WIELDED THE NOW ILLEGALLY USED AUTOPEN, DELETED AND DESTROYED ALL EVIDENCE AND INFORMATION FROM THEIR CORRUPT AND VICIOUS WITCH HUNT AGAINST ME, AND MANY OTHER PEOPLE, WHOSE LIVES WERE COMPLETELY SHATTERED AND DESTROYED BY THIS HISTORICALLY CRIMINAL EVENT.”

Autopen signatures are automatically produced by a machine, as opposed to an authentic, handwritten signature. The conservative Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project first investigated the Biden administration’s use of an autopen earlier this year and found that the same signature was on a bevvy of executive orders and other official documents, while Biden’s signature on the document announcing his departure from the 2024 race varied from the apparent machine-produced signature.

The reports led to speculation that Biden aides had approved of executive orders and sweeping pardons, not the president. 

Hur led an investigation into Biden’s handling of classified documents following his departure as vice president under the Obama administration. Hur announced in February 2024 that he would not recommend criminal charges against Biden for possessing classified materials after his vice presidency, citing that Biden is “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”

Although a transcript was released, the White House asserted executive privilege over releasing recordings after Garland urged the administration not to release the recordings, according to a letter obtained by Fox News in May of last year. 

BIDEN’S ‘AUTOPEN SIGNATURE’ APPEARS ON MOST OFFICIAL DOCS, RAISING CONCERNS OVER WHO CONTROLLED THE WH: REPORT

“The audio recordings of your interview and Mr. Zwonitzer’s interview fall within the scope of executive privilege. Production of these recordings to the Committees would raise an unacceptable risk of undermining the Department’s ability to conduct similar high-profile criminal investigations–in particular, investigations where the voluntary cooperation of White House officials is exceedingly important,” Garland wrote in a letter to Biden last year, justifying why the recordings should not be released.  

PRESIDENT BIDEN PARDONS HIS SIBLINGS JUST MINUTES BEFORE LEAVING OFFICE

Comer and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-OH, subpoenaed the Department of Justice in February 2024 for the recordings and other materials related to the interview and investigation, but to no avail. The House voted to hold Garland in contempt of Congress over the matter in June 2024. 

Comer announced on Friday that his committee will continue “its investigation into the cover-up of Biden’s mental decline and use of autopen” and the use of the pen when Biden pardoned members of his family.  

“The American people deserve to know who was actually calling the shots in the Biden White House, because it wasn’t Joe Biden. His mental decline was obvious to anyone paying attention. But instead of being honest, the Biden Administration, Democrats in Congress, and the legacy media lied and covered it up. They gaslit the American people while propping up a man who was unfit to lead,” Comer said in a press release on Friday, noting that Garland “defied” a subpoena to release the recordings. 

“Key decisions made in the final days of the Biden presidency, including using autopens to issue blanket pardons for the Biden Crime Family, must be fully examined. There are serious concerns that President Biden lacked the mental capacity to authorize those actions. The American people are done being lied to. We’re going to bring the truth into the light, and starting next week, those involved in the cover-up will begin to be put on notice,” Comer said in a statement on Friday. 

The recordings “demonstrate that Biden was completely out of it, and we already found documents that the Biden White House had changed the transcript, edited it to hide this. This is what they were hiding. There’s got to be accountability. Garland should be prosecuted by the Attorney General over the contempt he had for Congress to hide this,” Fitton said on Fox News last week. 

Fox News host Mark Levin said Garland “should be forced to testify before Congress under oath” over the alleged cover-up of Biden’s health. 

“Former Attorney General Garland heard these recordings and used lies and deceit to prevent them from being released to the American people before the Democrats nominated Biden. He should be forced to testify before Congress under oath and held to account for his grotesque abuse of power,” Levin posted to X. 

HUNTER BIDEN PARDON: MEDIA TAKES LATEST BLOW TO CREDIBILITY WITH BOTCHED COVERAGE OF BROKEN PROMISE

Hours before Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, the White House announced pardons for both Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; and Milley, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. 

Less than a half an hour before Trump became president, Biden pardoned members of his family, including his brother James B. Biden, sister Valerie Biden Owens, brother-in-law John T. Owens and brother Francis W. Biden. 

The former president had previously issued a “full and unconditional pardon” to his adult son, Hunter Biden, after he was convicted in two separate federal cases last year. Hunter Biden’s pardon covered a 10-year period, between 2014 to 2024, for any offenses he may have committed. 

“I do think that the Biden pardons need some scrutiny, and they need scrutiny because we want pardons to matter and to be accepted and to be something that’s used correctly. So, I do think we’re going to take a hard look at how they went and what they did. And if they’re null and void,” Ed Martin said in his final press conference while serving as acting U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C. 

Trump claimed on Truth Social in March that Biden’s pardons were “void” due to the “fact that they were done by Autopen.” 

“The ‘Pardons’ that Sleepy Joe Biden gave to the Unselect Committee of Political Thugs, and many others, are hereby declared VOID, VACANT, AND OF NO FURTHER FORCE OR EFFECT, because of the fact that they were done by Autopen,” Trump claimed in a Truth Social post.

“In other words, Joe Biden did not sign them but, more importantly, he did not know anything about them! The necessary Pardoning Documents were not explained to, or approved by, Biden. He knew nothing about them, and the people that did may have committed a crime,” Trump added.

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

Martin, who will now lead the Department of Justice’s “Weaponization Working Group” targeting political corruption within the federal law enforcement department, added in a media interview earlier this month that he had been investigating Biden’s last-minute pardons. 

“When [former President] Bill Clinton pardoned Marc Rich, and it turned out that Marc Rich had paid a boatload of money to one of Clinton’s friend’s lawyers. That’s not corrupt, it’s not criminal, because the plenary power of the pardon. But in the case of Joe Biden and his pardons, they were so specific. Back 14 years, covering everything you’ve ever done. And when I say specific, they were broad, but they had time stuff on them,” Martin said earlier this month, according to the Daily Caller News Foundation. 

“And that at least leads to questions, because the plenary power’s true. But the question is what is going on here, and I did get responses from some of them and those questions are ongoing,” Martin continued.

Conservative social media users have sounded off that the recordings show Biden lacked the cognitive ability to know about the pardons or executive orders he allegedly signed off on. 

HUR TRANSCRIPT CONFIRMS BIDEN MEMORY LAPSES, CONTRADICTS PRESIDENT’S CLAIM ABOUT EXCHANGE OVER SON’S DEATH

“Joe Biden had no clue where he was for most of his presidency… Just listen to Robert Hur’s interview with him… He’s a complete mess. There’s no way Biden knew about the pardons, executive orders and directives coming out of his office,” conservative X commentator Tim Young posted to the platform.

“I’d say with the Hur tapes coming out, maybe those pardons can be challenged? Biden was CLEARLY mentally incapacitated,” conservative podcast host Shawn Farash posted to X. 

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Fox News Digital reached out to Biden’s office for comment on the tapes and subsequent backlash on Sunday morning but did not immediately receive a reply. 

Multiple conversations are ongoing on Sunday — some in person but most on the phone — as House Republicans try to lock in agreements for the big, beautiful bill.

Three areas are outstanding overall. Two are specific to the Budget Committee, which reconvenes Sunday night.

Republicans are trying to work out a final pact on green energy tax credits, which could be a major payfor in the bill. The other item is work requirements for Medicaid recipients — and when those kick in.

Fox News is told that prospective deals on this front will likely be handshake pacts or “gentlemen’s agreements,” as it was phrased to Fox News.

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

The other issue in question is the SALT deduction. That refers to state and local tax breaks for high-tax states. That provision is of the utmost importance to court the votes of moderate Republicans from New York and California.

The “SALT caucus” wanted a tax write-off, which might cost as much as $600 billion. The new proposal only costs $230 billion. Fox News is told they are trying to forge a compromise which grants a higher SALT deduction at the beginning of the bill’s implementation — and then dials that back over the 10-year budgetary window for the bill.

Remember, this measure must not add to the deficit over that decade-long budgetary timeframe in order to qualify for a special process to avoid a filibuster in the Senate.

Fox is told that nothing will change in the bill before the Budget Committee on Sunday night. The White House is currently addressing how to implement possible changes with a “manager’s amendment” before the Rules Committee later this week. That would finalize and lock in stone the actual text of the bill.

Fox is told that the GOP leadership believes they are certainly within range. The GOP brass is generally feeling good at where they stand, “so long as people don’t start adding things,” said one senior House Republican leadership source.

HOUSE GOP UNVEILS MEDICAID WORK REQUIREMENTS IN TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’

The overall goal is to post the text of the bill early this week and go to the Rules Committee on Wednesday with a possible vote on Thursday. But one senior GOP source told Fox the timetable could be expedited with a Tuesday Rules Committee meeting — where changes would be made — and maybe go to the floor on Wednesday.

Now, on to what will likely happen on Sunday night in the Budget Committee:

The resolution, mashing together the text from all the other committees, failed on Friday afternoon. The process can’t move forward unless they get the measure out of the Budget Committee. Hence, Sunday’s 10 p.m. ET meeting.

There will be little if any debate — it’s only about that math. Either the GOP leadership and the White House have satisfied the concerns of those who voted nay or they haven’t. In fact, if things go swimmingly, this could be wrapped up after 20 minutes or so.

Here’s what it will look like:

The first vote is the “motion to reconsider” the failed Friday vote. If that fails, they are stuck.

But if they get over that hurdle, it’s on to an actual re-vote of what failed on Friday. This is the key vote. If the Budget Committee greenlights the package at this stage, it’s on to the Rules Committee this week and then the floor.

There will be five non-binding votes after that key vote on issues we don’t need to worry about.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio addressed the timing of a potential face-to-face meeting between President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin regarding a ceasefire deal in Ukraine in an interview that aired Sunday. 

Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday while returning to Washington, D.C., from Abu Dhabi that no peace in Ukraine would be reached until he met with Putin in person. The president added in a Truth Social post on Saturday that he planned to speak with Putin on the phone on Monday, followed by a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and some NATO leaders. 

Meanwhile, Rubio — who attended Pope Leo XIV’s inaugural mass in Rome on Sunday — said the Vatican has offered to host a direct meeting between Ukraine, Russia and possibly other parties. 

“Obviously, the Vatican has made a very generous offer to host anything — by the way, not just a meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin, but any meeting, including at a technical level, you know — any meetings that need to be hosted, they’ve expressed a willingness to do so. So it’s a very generous offer that may be taken up on,” Rubio told CBS’ “Face the Nation” in an interview that was recorded on Saturday. “I mean, it would be a site that all parties would feel comfortable. So hopefully we’ll get to that stage where talks are happening on a regular basis, and that the Vatican will have the opportunity to be one of the options.” 

ZELENSKYY SHEDS DETAILS ON MEETING WITH VANCE, RUBIO IN ROME AFTER RUSSIA PEACE TALKS STALL

Rubio had a phone call with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, on Saturday after Putin was a no-show to a face-to-face meeting the Russian leader called with Zelenskyy in Turkey last week. Despite Putin’s absence, the Ukrainian and Russian delegations did agree to a prisoner exchange of 1,000 people from each side, though a broader ceasefire or peace deal failed to materialize. 

CBS host Margaret Brennan asked Rubio if he spoke with Lavrov about lining up a face-to-face meeting between Trump and Putin. 

“Well, we talked about a variety of things,” said Rubio. “I wanted to get his readout on his view of how the talks went yesterday. They were not a complete waste of time. For example, there were 1,000 prisoners that are going to be exchanged, and that, from a humanitarian standpoint, is very positive. He explained to me that they are going to be preparing a document outlining their requirements for a ceasefire that would then lead to broader negotiations.”

Rubio said the Ukrainians will be working on their own proposal coming soon, and he hoped proposals from both sides would be “serious and viable.”

“So we’ll have to wait and see. But he wanted me to know, and he communicated in our call, that their side will be working on a series of ideas and requirements that they would have in order to move forward with a ceasefire and further negotiations,” he said.

Rubio said the U.S. is “testing” whether the Russian are just “tapping” them along, as Trump has suggested could be the case. 

ZELENSKYY SPEAKS WITH TRUMP, ALLIES AFTER RUSSIA PEACE TALKS BROKER NO CEASEFIRE

“On the one hand, we’re trying to achieve peace and end a very bloody, costly and destructive war. So there’s some element of patience that is required. On the other hand, we don’t have time to waste,” Rubio said. “There are a lot of other things happening in the world that we also need to be paying attention to. So we don’t want to be involved in this process of just endless talks — there has to be some progress, some movement forward. And if at the end of this, in the next few days, we get a document produced by both sides, and it shows that both sides are… making concessions and being realistic and rational in their approach, then I think we can feel good about continuing to remain engaged.”

“If, on the other hand, what we see is not very productive, perhaps we’ll have a different assessment. I also agree that, ultimately, one of the things that could help break this logjam — perhaps the only thing that can — is a direct conversation between President Trump and Vladimir Putin. And he’s already openly expressed a desire and a belief that that needs to happen, and hopefully that’ll be worked out soon as well,” he added.

Pressed on whether the in-person talks between Trump and Putin were being planned, Rubio reiterated that the president had already made that offer publicly. 

“The mechanics of setting that kind of meeting up would require a little bit of work, so I can’t say that’s being planned as we speak in terms of picking a site and a date,” Rubio said. “But the president wants to do it. He wants to do it as soon as feasible. I think the Russian side has also expressed a willingness to do it. And so, now it’s just a question of bringing them, bringing everyone together, and figuring out where and when and that meeting will happen and what it will be about.”

Rubio joined Vice President JD Vance in meeting with Zelenskyy at the U.S. ambassador’s residence in Rome on Sunday. 

Vance and Rubio later met with Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen for discussions on trade, the war in Ukraine and NATO spending, according to a spokesperson for the vice president. 

“The individual countries within Europe are important allies of the United States. But, of course, we have some disagreements, as friends sometimes do, on issues like trade, and we also have many agreements and many things we can work on together, and I’m looking forward to the conversation,” Vance told reporters at the top of the meeting. 

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After the meeting, the vice president’s office released a statement saying that “the leaders discussed their shared goal of ending the bloodshed in Ukraine and provided updates on the current state of negotiations for a ceasefire and lasting peace.” 

Fox News’ Meghan Tomes and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

House Speaker Mike Johnson on Sunday defended the “aggressive” timetable he is pushing to advance President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” saying the House remains on track to pass the “historic” legislative package by Memorial Day. 

The House Budget Committee will reconvene at 10 p.m. Sunday night after a vote to advance the more than 1,100-page “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” failed Friday, when five Republicans sided with committee Democrats to sink Trump’s sweeping tax bill. 

“We’re on track, working around the clock to deliver this nation-shaping legislation for the American people as soon as possible,” Johnson said during an appearance on “Fox News Sunday” regarding ongoing negotiations. “All 11 of our committees have wrapped up their work, and they spent less and saved more than even we’ve projected initially. This really is a once in a generation opportunity that we have here.” 

WH STUDY WARNS 9 MILLION AMERICANS COULD LOSE HEALTH INSURANCE IN ‘MAJOR’ RECESSION IF TRUMP BUDGET BILL FAILS

After the bill advances through the budget committee, Johnson said the plan is to move the legislative package to the House Rules Committee by mid-week and then to the House floor by the end of the week “so we meet our initial, our original Memorial Day deadline.” 

“It’s very important for people to understand why we’re being so aggressive on the timetable and why this really is so important,” Johnson said. “This is the vehicle through which we will deliver on the mandate the American people gave us during the last election. You’re going to have historic savings for the American people, historic tax relief for American workers, historic investments in border security.

“At the same time, we’re restoring American energy dominance, and we’re rebuilding the defense industrial base, and we’re ensuring that programs like Medicaid and SNAP are strengthened for U.S. citizens who need and deserve them and not being squandered away by illegal aliens and persons who are ineligible to receive them and are cheating the system,” he added.

Johnson reiterated that making Trump’s 2017 tax cuts permanent by 2026 is critical and stressed that the package also eliminates taxes on overtime and tips – a 2024 Trump campaign promise. He said it also includes new tax relief for seniors on Social Security and cuts taxes on “job creators, so that will help everybody across the country at the same time as incentivizing American-made production and manufacturing.” 

HANDFUL OF REPUBLICANS SINK TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ IN KEY HOUSE COMMITTEE

“This is a big thing. We cannot fail, and we’ll get it done for the American people,” Johnson said. 

South Carolina Rep. Ralph Norman and Texas Rep. Chip Roy are among critics from Johnson’s own party who say the speaker is not serious about cutting spending. They want work requirements for able-bodied adult Medicaid recipients to be implemented sooner than 2029 – a view Johnson told “Fox News Sunday” that he shares, but the speaker added there is concern over the ability of the states to “retool their systems and ensure the verification process” can be enforced. 

“We’re working through all those details, and we’ll get it done, but I’ll tell you what, this is the largest spending reduction in at least three decades, probably longer. It’s historic,” Johnson said, adding that the package has the support of Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought, as well as “nearly 500 organizations across the conservative spectrum” including fiscally responsible groups who believe “that we’ve got to turn the tide in spending.”

“We are. This is our opportunity to do it. It’s once in a generation, as I’ve said, and we can’t squander it,” Johnson said. 

The speaker said that while he is confident he will be able to reach a compromise on the Medicaid work requirement to squash internal disputes, Republican leadership does not expect a single Democrat to vote for the bill. 

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“Which means that they will be on record apparently supporting the largest tax increase in U.S. history, which is what will happen by default after the end of this year if we do not get this job done. We have to accomplish this mission, and we will.,” Johnson said.

Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Ukrainian President Vlodomyr Zelenskyy in Rome Sunday for ongoing peace talks as the war between Russia and Ukraine continues. 

“During our talks we discussed negotiations in Istanbul to where the Russians sent a low-level delegation of non-decision-makers. I reaffirmed that Ukraine is ready to be engaged in real diplomacy and underscored the importance of a full and unconditional ceasefire as soon as possible,” Zelenskyy shared on X of the meeting. 

“We have also touched upon the need for sanctions against Russia, bilateral trade, defense cooperation, battlefield situation and upcoming prisoners exchange. Pressure is needed against Russia until they are eager to stop the war. And, of course, we talked about our joint steps to achieve a just and durable peace,” he continued. 

ZELENSKYY SPEAKS WITH TRUMP, ALLIES AFTER RUSSIA PEACE TALKS BROKER NO CEASEFIRE

World leaders converged in Rome this weekend for Pope Leo XIV’s inaugural mass at the Vatican on Sunday, with Vance leading the U.S. delegation. Zelenskyy also attended the mass. 

The meeting comes after Russian and Ukrainian officials held their first direct peace talks in years last week in Istanbul. The two sides, however, failed to reach a ceasefire agreement for a war that has raged since February of 2022. 

Hours after the meeting, a Russian drone strike hit a passenger bus in northeastern Ukraine on Saturday. 

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

Russia and Ukraine did agree to a large prisoner swap during the meeting last week, despite not reaching a ceasefire. 

President Donald Trump said on Friday, during his four-day tour of the Middle East, that he wants to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the war “as soon as we can set it up.” 

Trump added in a Truth Social post on Saturday that he will speak to Putin by phone on Monday, which will be followed by another call to Zelenskyy and NATO leaders as the U.S. continues to work to broker a peace deal between the two nations as negotiations drag. 

TRUMP, AFTER SKIPPING RUSSIA-UKRAINE PEACE TALKS, WANTS TO MEET PUTIN ‘AS SOON AS WE CAN SET IT UP’

“I WILL BE SPEAKING, BY TELEPHONE, TO PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN OF RUSSIA ON MONDAY, AT 10:00 A.M. THE SUBJECTS OF THE CALL WILL BE, STOPPING THE ‘BLOODBATH’ THAT IS KILLING, ON AVERAGE, MORE THAN 5000 RUSSIAN AND UKRAINIAN SOLDIERS A WEEK,” Trump posted on his Truth Social Saturday.

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“HOPEFULLY IT WILL BE A PRODUCTIVE DAY, A CEASEFIRE WILL TAKE PLACE, AND THIS VERY VIOLENT WAR, A WAR THAT SHOULD HAVE NEVER HAPPENED, WILL END,” Trump said. “GOD BLESS US ALL!!!”

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