NationalWatch

President Donald Trump said Friday that the U.S. has given Iran a proposal for a nuclear deal.

“Yeah they have a proposal, but more importantly, they know they have to move quickly or something bad, something bad is going to happen,” Trump said.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned this week that the United States is facing a critical moment with Iran to curb its efforts to develop a nuclear weapon and limit its uranium enrichment.

U.S. and Iranian officials have held four rounds of talks, primarily in Oman, since Trump took office to address Tehran’s nuclear program.

The International Atomic Energy Agency, often referred to as the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, noted in a March report that Iran’s stockpile of 60% enriched uranium had alarmingly grown from 182 kg to 275 kg, approximately 401 pounds to 606 pounds, in early 2025.

“Once you’re at 60, you’re 90% of the way there. You are, in essence, a threshold nuclear weapons state, which is what Iran basically has become,” Rubio said Thursday on “Hannity”.

“They are at the threshold of a nuclear weapon. If they decided to do so, they could do so very quickly. If they stockpile enough of that 60 percent enriched, they could very quickly turn it into 90 and weaponize it. That’s the danger we face right now. That’s the urgency here,” he said.

The president also said Thursday in the United Arab Emirates that the U.S. and Iran have “sort of” agreed to terms on a nuclear deal.

“Iran has sort of agreed to the terms. They’re not going to make — I call it, in a friendly way — nuclear dust,” Trump told reporters. “We’re not going to be making any nuclear dust in Iran.”

Fox News Digital’s Ashley Carnahan contributed to this report.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

A new national poll released this week is one of the first to indicate a bump up in President Donald Trump‘s approval ratings after a steady edging down in the president’s numbers since he returned to office in January.

Trump stands at 44% approval and 52% disapproval in a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted Monday and Tuesday (May 12-13). The president’s approval rating edged up two points — which is within the survey’s sampling error — from the previous Reuters/Ipsos national survey, which was in the field late last month.

US-CHINA TRADE TRUCE IGNITES STOCK MARKETS

Likely fueling the modest increase in the president’s overall approval rating is his performance on the economy. The new poll indicates 39% of adults nationwide give Trump a thumbs up on how he is handling the economy, up three points from last month.

The new poll was conducted amid this week’s surge in the stock markets following a truce between the U.S. and China in their tariff standoff, and in the wake of last week’s signing of an initial trade deal with the U.K. — which is the first since Trump implemented massive tariffs on friends and foes across the globe six weeks ago.

WHAT’S IN THE TRADE TRUCE WITH CHINA

Trump’s blockbuster tariff announcement in early April sparked a trade war with some of the nation’s top trading partners and triggered a massive sell-off in the financial markets and increased concerns about a recession.

However, as Trump has partially reversed course in recent weeks by easing back on his sharpest trade moves, public concerns about recession have also slightly eased, while still remaining at heightened levels.

Sixty-nine percent questioned in the new poll said they were worried about a recession, down from 76% a month ago. Additionally, concerns about the stock market dropped seven points, to 60%.

Veteran Republican strategist Colin Reed told Fox News that the president has “been very clear-eyed about the fact that you are going to have to break some eggs to make an omelet and his voters will give him the latitude to do so.

“We’re still less than 150 days in, he’s got some time to make the hard calls that have to be made and still give the economic plane runway to take off ahead of the midterms, which is when all of these early decisions will be graded,” Reed added.

WHERE TRUMP STANDS IN THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLL

Most, but not all, of the most recent national public opinion surveys indicate Trump’s approval ratings in negative territory, which is a slide from the president’s poll position when he started his second tour of duty in the White House nearly four months ago. 

Trump stood at 44% approval and 55% disapproval in the most recent Fox News national poll, which was conducted April 18-21.

An average of the latest national surveys puts the president’s approval rating underwater by around four points, but that is a slight improvement from late last month.

The economy, and inflation in particular, were pressing issues that kept former President Joe Biden‘s approval ratings well below water for most of his presidency, and which greatly contributed to Trump’s White House victory last November.

They were behind Trump’s slide in the polls so far this year.

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“Trump’s return to office did not begin as he and his supporters had hoped. Campaign promises about inflation and interest rates appeared deferred while the daily news coverage focused on the many distractions plaguing the White House,” longtime political scientist and analyst Wayne Lesperance noted.

However, Lesperance, president of New England College, said that “signs of progress may be emerging. Possible trade deals with Britain, China, and India are providing hope that some good may come from his tariff strategy. Add to that a rebounding stock market and lower gas prices at the start of summer vacation season and the president may see some calming of public nervousness.”

In a move that adds to an ever-growing stack of court interventions that have stymied the president’s second-term agenda, a federal judge blocked the Trump administration from targeting foreign service workers’ collective bargaining rights amid an ongoing challenge against an executive order.

The American Foreign Service Association, a labor union for foreign service workers, lodged a legal challenge after President Donald Trump issued an executive order earlier this year that, according to a White House fact sheet, aimed to “end collective bargaining with Federal unions in” various government entities “with national security missions.”

“Certain Federal unions have declared war on President Trump’s agenda,” the release asserted. “Protecting America’s national security is a core constitutional duty, and President Trump refuses to let union obstruction interfere with his efforts to protect Americans and our national interests.”

Judge Paul L. Friedman of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia — who was nominated by then-President Bill Clinton decades ago — issued the order granting the plaintiff’s motion for a preliminary injunction.

TRUMP’S NEWEST EXECUTIVE ORDER MOVES TO END COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AT AGENCIES SAFEGUARDING NATIONAL SECURITY

The order signed by Friedman states, in part, that Trump’s executive order “is unlawful as applied to the Defendants who are heads of agencies with employees represented by the Plaintiff.”

“The effect of the Executive Order was substantial: it removed collective bargaining rights from approximately two-thirds of the federal workforce,” Friedman’s opinion declared, echoing verbatim a sentence included in an opinion Friedman issued last month in a similar case.

In that case, which was brought by the National Treasury Employees Union, Friedman also targeted Trump’s executive order and granted a motion for a preliminary injunction.

JUDGE TEMPORARILY BLOCKS TRUMP ORDER ENDING COLLECTIVE BARGAINING RIGHTS FOR MOST FEDERAL WORKERS

American Foreign Service Association President Tom Yazdgerdi called the ruling “a significant victory—not just for our members, but for the integrity of the Foreign Service and for the accountability and transparency of our member agencies,” according to a press release issued by the union.

“President Trump eliminated collective bargaining agreements that risk national security interests. He will always prioritize public safety for the American people,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in a statement the White House provided to Fox News Digital on Thursday.

JUDGE UPHOLDS TRUMP’S AUTHORITY TO DEPORT CRIMINAL MIGRANTS UNDER ALIEN ENEMIES ACT

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In a statement provided to Fox News Digital after publication, a Justice Department spokesperson said, “This Department has vigorously defended President Trump’s executive actions, including the order to end collective bargaining agreements that jeopardize our national security, and will continue to do so.” 

Former judge Jeanine Pirro was sworn in as interim U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., on Thursday.

Pirro, 73, will now lead a team of attorneys in defending President Donald Trump’s administration in court as well as prosecuting local crimes in the nation’s capital.

“Congratulations ⁦Judge Jeanine⁩ who will soon make DC Great Again!” Sergi Gor, the director White House Office of Presidential Personnel, wrote on social media.

President Donald Trump announced he was appointing Pirro to the role last week.

FOX NEWS CHANNEL FINISHES HIGHEST-RATED FIRST 100 DAYS IN CABLE NEWS HISTORY WITH DOMINANT APRIL

“I am pleased to announce that Judge Jeanine Pirro will be appointed interim United States Attorney for the District of Columbia,” Trump wrote on social media. 

TRUMP PULLS HIS NOMINATION FOR DC US ATTORNEY, SAYS HE’LL REVEAL NEW PICK SOON

“Jeanine is incredibly well qualified for this position, and is considered one of the Top District Attorneys in the History of the State of New York. She is in a class by herself. Congratulations Jeanine!”

Pirro has left Fox News Channel and a rotation of Fox News personalities will fill her seat on “The Five” until a new co-host is named.

“Jeanine Pirro has been a wonderful addition to The Five over the last three years and a longtime beloved host across FOX News Media who contributed greatly to our success throughout her 14-year tenure. We wish her all the best in her new role in Washington,” a spokesperson for FOX News Media said in a statement. 

Pirro served as the assistant district attorney and district attorney in New York’s Westchester County and became the first woman to serve as a judge in Westchester County Court. 

She joined Fox News Channel in 2006 and hosted “Justice with Judge Jeanine” for 11 years before joining “The Five,” which has emerged as the most-watched show on cable news.

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Trump also announced on Truth Social that Ed Martin, who was the previous interim U.S. attorney in D.C., will be moving to the Department of Justice as its “Director of the Weaponization Working Group, Associate Deputy Attorney General, and Pardon Attorney.”

Fox News’ Joseph Wulfsohn contributed to this report.

The leader of the United Arab Emirates gifted President Donald Trump his country’s highest civilian honor on Thursday. 

“In recognition of President Donald Trump’s exceptional efforts to strengthen the longstanding ties of friendship and strategic partnership between the United Arab Emirates and the United States of America, I am honored to announce that His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan bestows the Order of Zayed upon President Trump,” a woman was heard before Trump was presented the award. 

The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the “Order of Zayed is considered the highest civilian honor granted by the UAE, and is bestowed upon world leaders and heads of state.” 

“The award bears the name of the UAE’s Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed, whose legacy of humanitarianism, international cooperation and the pursuit of peace continues to have an impact throughout the world today,” the ministry added. 

TRUMP MAKES HISTORIC UAE VISIT AS FIRST US PRESIDENT IN NEARLY 20 YEARS

Trump on Thursday arrived in the United Arab Emirates for his final stop on his Middle East trip this week in a visit that marked the first time a U.S. president has traveled to the nation in nearly 20 years, following President George W. Bush’s trip in 2008. 

TRUMP SIGNS AGREEMENTS WITH QATAR ON DEFENSE AND BOEING PURCHASES

In March, the UAE pledged a $1.4 trillion investment in the U.S. economy over the next decade through AI infrastructure, semiconductor, energy and American manufacturing initiatives, including a plan to nearly double U.S. aluminum production by investing in a new smelter for the first time in 35 years.  

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On the eve of the president’s visit to the Middle Eastern nation, the State Department also announced a $1.4 billion sale of CH-47 F Chinook helicopters and F-16 fighter jet parts to Abu Dhabi. 

Fox News’ Caitlin McFall contributed to this report. 

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said ex-FBI Director James Comey should be “put behind bars” for a post he made on Instagram on Thursday allegedly “issuing a call to assassinate [President Donald Trump.]”

Earlier on Thursday, Comey shared a picture on Instagram with seashells formed in the numbers “86 47.” To some, the number “86” is a call sign for murdering or getting rid of someone or something and “47” is typically used to refer to the 47th President of the United States.

“Cool shell formation on my beach walk…,” Comey wrote in the caption of the picture, which has since been deleted.

Gabbard made the comments on “Jesse Watters Primetime” Thursday night after Comey said he wasn’t aware that the number “86” stands for some sort of violence.

EX-FBI CHIEF COMEY’S ‘86 47’ SOCIAL MEDIA POST CONDEMNED BY WHITE HOUSE AS ATTEMPT TO PUT ‘HIT’ ON PRESIDENT

“I posted earlier a picture of some shells I saw today on a beach walk, which I assumed were a political message,” Comey said after deleting the initial picture. “I didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence. It never occurred to me but I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down.” 

Gabbard said Comey and his people “need to be held to account according to the law” regardless of why he said he posted the picture.

“The rule of law says people like him who issue direct threats against the POTUS, essentially issuing a call to assassinate him, must be held accountable under the law,” Gabbard said, adding that she thinks he should be in jail.

The national intelligence director said Comey’s post has her “very concerned for [the president’s life.]”

“I’m very concerned for the president’s life; we’ve already seen assassination attempts. I’m very concerned for his life and James Comey, in my view, should be held accountable and put behind bars for this,” she said.

‘NEVER TRUMPER’ COMEY’S ’86 47′ TRUMP POST UNDER INVESTIGATION

Gabbard also said Comey has a lot of influence and that there are “people who take [him] very seriously.”

Shortly after Comey removed the post, Fox News Digital learned from a Secret Service source that the agency was aware of the incident and agents are being sent to investigate and interview Comey.

The White House also condemned Comey’s actions, with White House deputy chief of staff and Cabinet Secretary Taylor Budowich calling his post “deeply concerning.”

“While President Trump is currently on an international trip to the Middle East, the former FBI Director puts out what can clearly be interpreted as ‘a hit’ on the sitting President of the United States — a message etched in the sand,” Budowich wrote on X. “This is deeply concerning to all of us and is being taken seriously.”

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Comey, who led the FBI during Trump’s first term before he was fired from the spot, had no comment when reached by Fox News Digital earlier on Thursday.

Fox News Digital’s Alec Schemmel and David Spunt contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump weighed in on the birthright citizenship case being argued in front of the Supreme Court Thursday, insisting the law originally was intended to benefit the descendants of slaves, not illegal immigrants. 

“Birthright Citizenship was not meant for people taking vacations to become permanent Citizens of the United States of America, and bringing their families with them, all the time laughing at the ‘SUCKERS’ that we are!” Trump wrote in a post Thursday morning on his Truth Social platform as the arguments were being heard. “The United States of America is the only Country in the World that does this, for what reason, nobody knows – But the drug cartels love it!”

Trump added that birthright citizenship, which was adopted as a constitutional amendment in 1868, was primarily intended to benefit the babies of slaves.

SUPREME COURT TAKES ON BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP: JUSTICES APPEAR OPEN TO CONSERVING STATUS QUO

“It had nothing to do with Illegal Immigration for people wanting to SCAM our Country, from all parts of the World, which they have done for many years,” Trump said in his post. “It had to do with Civil War results, and the babies of slaves who our politicians felt, correctly, needed protection. Please explain this to the Supreme Court of the United States.”

Trump cited the birthright citizenship issue as “yet another point that leads to the dysfunction of America.”

“We are, for the sake of being politically correct, a STUPID Country but, in actuality, this is the exact opposite of being politically correct, and it is yet another point that leads to the dysfunction of America.”

‘EVERY COURT HAS RULED AGAINST YOU’: SUPREME COURT JUSTICE ELENA KAGAN SPARS WITH U.S. SOLICITOR GENERAL JOHN SAUER IN BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP CASE’

While the case being heard Thursday resulted from disputes against the president’s effort to end birthright citizenship, which is the right for any child born in the U.S. to automatically acquire citizenship, the issue of whether it is permissible for lower courts to permanently block Trump’s executive actions will hinge on the justices’ decision. 

Through universal injunctions, lower federal courts can bar authorities from enforcing a Trump executive order.

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The birthright citizenship case was set in motion after Trump signed a Day One executive order, meant to go into effect Feb. 19, reinterpreting the 19th-century amendment. But shortly after the order was signed, legal challenges ensued and Democratic-appointed federal judges began blocking the president’s action. 

Meanwhile, appeals of those decisions from the Trump administration failed before the Supreme Court decided to take up the case.  

It is unclear when the high court’s justices’ final ruling on the birthright citizenship case will come out. It could take weeks, or it could take just several hours if they decide to issue an emergency ruling right away.

A vote to force the Trump administration to produce a report on El Salvador’s human rights practices, spearheaded by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., failed by a roll call vote of 45-50 on Thursday.

Kaine, along with co-sponsors Sens. Chuck Schumer of New York, Chris Van Hollen of Maryland and Alex Padilla of California, all Democrats, cited powers granted by the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to put forward a privileged resolution – which required a vote regardless of GOP opposition – to compel the administration to provide such details.

Speaking to reporters when he announced the vote, Kaine said that if passed, it would freeze foreign assistance to the Salvadoran government if the Trump administration were to balk.

“I also send a message to the government of El Salvador,” Kaine said during his remarks, breaking into Spanish midway.

NOT A MARYLAND MAN: GOP BLASTS DEMOCRAT SENATOR FIGHTING FOR RETURN OF SALVADORAN NATIONAL

“You might think it’s cute right now to grab attention by a bromance with President Donald Trump. He’s going to be a president for poco más (a short time) – tres años más (three more years).”

Continuing in Spanish, Kaine said the two countries will always have relations, before transitioning back to English to say that the U.S. will not soon forget “you violating the human rights of American citizens – you’re wrong.”

On the Senate floor Thursday, Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., said Senate Democrats are “voting once again to defend illegal immigrant criminals. They seem to like to do that. It’s hard to believe, but it’s true.”

“They’re going to come to this floor today, and they’re going to line up to express their blind loyalty and belligerent support for illegal immigrant criminals,” said Barrasso, who, as majority whip, is the second-most-senior Republican.

KAINE BREAKS INTO SPANISH AS DEMS FORCE VOTE TARGETING TRUMP-BUKELE ALLIANCE OVER DEPORTATIONS

“No Democrats are going to be able to answer the question – How does allowing MS-13 gang members to roam free in our communities make America safer?”

Kaine’s office did provide a copy of the resolution. along with a statement from the Virginia Democrat:

“If President Trump is going to cut secret deals to send people to foreign prisons without due process, every Senator—and the public—needs to understand the details about those deportations, including the human rights record of the nation putting American residents behind bars,” Kaine said.

“This information is critical at a time when the Trump Administration has admitted to wrongfully deporting people to El Salvador, and after Trump has said he’s also looking for ways to deport American citizens to the same terrible prisons. Today, we will force a vote on our legislation to put all Senators on record on requiring some accountability from this lawless Administration.”

Van Hollen, who took a junket to El Salvador to attempt to bring deported suspected gang member Kilmar Garcia to Maryland – where his family lives – said Trump has failed to comply with the order to facilitate his return.

“We will use this resolution to force accountability,” said Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, a House supporter of the resolution, although Kaine said it does not require their blessing.

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Van Hollen, who took a junket to El Salvador to attempt to bring Garcia to Maryland – where his family lives – said Trump has failed to comply with the order to facilitate his return.

Both Trump and Bukele appeared to agree in an Oval Office meeting last month that returning Garcia would be “preposterous” and that the court order did not quite say what critics said it did.

A bill recently passed by lawmakers in Washington state could open the door for illegal immigrants to receive cash assistance under a program designed to provide housing assistance and other essential items to certain low-income residents unable to work, critics say.

The state’s Democratic-controlled Legislature last month passed SB 5232, which has been delivered to Democratic Gov. Bob Ferguson.  

The bill updates provisions related to the state’s Housing and Essential Needs Referral Program (HEN), which provides assistance to low-income U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents and victims of human trafficking if they can’t work due to their physical or mental condition. 

HOMELAND SECURITY SUBPOENAS CALIFORNIA FOR POSSIBLE CASH BENEFITS TO ILLEGALS

Lawmakers amended the bill to remove the eligibility requirement that recipients be “citizens or aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence or otherwise residing in the United States under color of law.”

“This year seems to be the year for noncitizens,” Republican state Sen. Leonard Christian, a ranking member of the Senate Human Services Committee, told Fox News Digital. “We have no problem giving direct money, housing money to noncitizens, along with $150 million in Medicaid for noncitizens.”

“It just seems like the state is trying really hard to pick a fight with the Trump administration,” he added. 

The state has set aside roughly $130 million for the HEN program in an effort to address homelessness and housing. 

In a social media post, state Rep. Travis Couture also criticized SB 5232, calling it the “same budget” with “more recipients.”

NEWSOM ASKS FOR NEARLY ANOTHER $3B FOR STATE HEALTH PROGRAM OVERWHELMED BY ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

“That means our people get kicked out of line in favor of illegal immigrants,” he wrote last week. “Gov. Ferguson — veto this. It’s unfair and it’s wrong. Put our own people first!”

Ferguson hasn’t signaled whether he will sign the legislation. Fox News Digital has reached out to the sponsors of the bill and the governor’s office. 

Christian characterized the government handing out funds for housing as a “gift of taxpayer dollars,” noting the money doesn’t have many “guardrails around it.” He cited his own life experience, recalling his mother once leaving him and his 12-year-old brother at home to go cross-country trucking. 

“He used the money that was given to my mom to buy groceries and food for us kids, to buy marijuana and alcohol at the age of 12,” he said. “I saw first hand (the impact of) substance abuse and handing money to somebody.”

NEWSOM SIGNS $2.8B BAILOUT FOR HEALTHCARE PROGRAM OVERRUN BY ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

Statewide, Democrats have favored higher taxes on businesses and the rich, which ultimately trickle down to middle- and lower-class residents and programs that benefit illegal immigrants over American citizens, Christian said. 

“A lot of times, the Democratic Party thinks more with their hearts than with their head,” he said. “It’s the idea that they see a problem, and they think they can fix it.”

Republicans want to address the same issues but look at how potential solutions will affect the overall population, he said. 

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“They don’t get the fact that somebody else has got to pay for that crazy program,” he said. “I would certainly like to go around with a card and have fun and save the world, but who’s going to pay that Visa bill, and that’s when they don’t seem to care.”

SB 5232 was passed as the state faces a $16 billion budget shortfall. In addition, Ferguson recently signed a handful of bills to protect immigrants’ rights, including measures to allow the state to inspect private detention centers and prohibit bail bond agents from enforcing immigration laws. 

“I hope they have makeup wipes in prison.”

That’s how Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., responded to the arrest of Samuel Theodore Cain, a trans-identifying activist who goes by “Roxie Wolfe” online, after he was charged with allegedly making repeated death threats against the congresswoman. 

Cain, 19, was taken into custody by the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) after months of alleged threats, making him the first known trans activist in the country to be arrested for threatening a sitting member of Congress.

In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, Mace didn’t hold back.

EXCLUSIVE: NANCY MACE TARGETED BY PENNSYLVANIA MAN ARRESTED FOR THREATENING TRUMP

“I’ve waited for this for a long time,” she said. “Trans activists have been threatening to kill me every day for over six months, ever since I started filing bills to protect women’s spaces.”

Mace said her top priority has always been protecting her family, her staff and herself from the kind of politically motivated violence she believes is getting worse and is also ignored by the left.

“We live in fear every day, looking over our shoulders because these trans activists fuel violence,” she said. “And yet not one Democrat has spoken up to say it’s wrong.”

Cain allegedly posted violent messages online threatening to kill Mace and her children, describing graphic ways he would harm her. According to Mace, these threats were shared with law enforcement and the public for months.

Investigative journalist Andy Ngo reported Cain had a history of allegedly posting threats and expressing support for far-left causes. 

REP. NANCY MACE’S ALLEGED ATTACKER PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO INCIDENT ON CAPITOL GROUNDS

In one post, Cain allegedly wrote, “I’M GOING TO ASSASSINATE REPRESENTATIVE NANCY MACE WITH A GUN AND I’M BEING 100% DEAD ASS.”

Ngo’s investigation revealed that Cain’s social media accounts were filled with posts about trans-related topics and support for Democrats. After being contacted by the FBI about his posts, Cain allegedly admitted to making the threat but claimed he “didn’t mean it.”

“We’ve posted the voicemails,” Mace said. “We’ve shared the text messages. They talked about smashing my head into a bathroom floor or shooting me.

“This is who these people are. And still, not a single Democrat has stood up and said, ‘This is unacceptable.’”

Mace said the silence speaks volumes.

“When the left shows you who they are, believe them,” she said. “They are normalizing political violence, and they’re doing it by refusing to condemn it.”

Mace, who has introduced legislation to protect women’s bathrooms and spaces, said this arrest only proves why her efforts matter.

“This matters more than ever,” she said. “We have to protect women. Real men protect women. Real men don’t threaten them. But we can’t do this alone. We need more people to speak out.”

She said real change will only happen when people stop being afraid and start holding dangerous behavior accountable.

“This arrest happened because someone had the courage to act,” she said. “That was Capitol Police. That was SLED. I demanded it too, but they finally said, ‘Not one more.’ That’s what we need — courage, not silence.”

Cain allegedly made many of his threats publicly on social media. Mace said that’s a major problem and called for changes to Section 230, the law that shields tech platforms from liability. According to the DOJ, 230 “provides immunity to online platforms from civil liability based on third-party content and for the removal of content in certain circumstances.”

“You can’t even sue blogs when people post threats or lies,” she said. “There’s no accountability. That has to change. People are being targeted, and these platforms are letting it happen.”

Some on the left have accused Mace of “punching down” for calling attention to her would-be attacker. Mace had a sharp response.

“Only Democrats blame the victim,” she said. “They don’t want to protect women. We’ve seen it in sports, bathrooms, locker rooms and now in politics. They always look the other way.

“There’s a total double standard. Not one Democrat colleague of mine has spoken out since the arrest. Not one.”

Asked what she would say to other lawmakers, especially women, who are scared to speak out on gender and safety issues, Mace was clear.

“Violence against women should always be taken seriously,” she said. “We should believe women. We should protect them. And we should prosecute the people who want to hurt them.

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“If you care about women, prove it. Stand up and say, ‘No more!’”

Mace also revealed to Fox News Digital she’s preparing a victim impact statement and hopes to attend Cain’s bond hearing scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Friday.

“I’m working on it now,” she said. “We’re figuring out logistics, but I plan to be there.”

Education Secretary Linda McMahon questioned Harvard University President Alan Garber’s decision to take a 25% pay cut, saying she’s not sure how that shows the university is changing policies on antisemitism or racial discrimination.

A Harvard University spokesperson told Fox News Wednesday Garber agreed to take a 25% reduction in pay for the 2025-26 school year after the Trump administration cut $2.2 billion in funding to the university.

McMahon was a guest on FOX Business’ “The Evening Edit” Thursday, and she opened up about the situation at the elite Ivy League institution and Garber’s reduction in pay.

“I’m not quite sure today with the president of Harvard, President Garber, taking a salary decrease is somehow a statement that they’re changing their policies on antisemitism or racial discrimination. I don’t think that does a whole lot to solve the problem,” McMahon told host Elizabeth MacDonald. 

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

“And if you just look at some of the stats, I mean, the Harvard Crimson even reported that … in their own research over the last couple of years, 2% to 3% of the faculty are conservative. And you just can’t have that kind of discrepancy without having the theology or ideology be biased across campus.”

Harvard on Tuesday filed an update to its lawsuit against the Trump administration after another $450 million of research funding was cut.

The Massachusetts school amended the lawsuit hours after the federal government’s Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism announced that eight federal agencies were terminating approximately $450 million in grants over what is described as Harvard’s “radical” and “dark problem” on campus.

“Harvard University has repeatedly failed to confront the pervasive race discrimination and antisemitic harassment plaguing its campus,” the task force said in a statement.

The latest freeze comes in addition to $2.2 billion in funding already withheld and threats by the Trump administration to revoke Harvard’s tax-exempt status. 

HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT TAKES 25% PAY CUT AMID TRUMP ADMINISTRATION FUNDING FREEZE

Harvard filed its initial lawsuit in April to block $2.2 billion in funding from being denied.

In its amended lawsuit, Harvard said much of the funding that was initially frozen has now been terminated, apparently with no hope of restoring it.

McMahon told MacDonald she did not think Harvard has changed its practices, adding the Trump administration has gone to the university to investigate.

“We wanted to sit down with President Garber. I spoke with him,” McMahon said. “We were going to sit down and discuss things, and we had sent a letter … and asked him to come to the table. And his answer was a lawsuit that Harvard filed.”

Since then, she said, there has been other communication with Garber, noting the Trump administration was doing some of the things without taking away the lawsuit.

But she added she is willing to discuss with Harvard officials what the university is doing differently.

TRUMP FROZE FUNDING FOR HARVARD. MONEY TO THESE UNIVERSITIES MAY ALSO BE ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK

McMahon acknowledged Harvard has tried to make changes, including asking the chair of the school’s Middle East Studies department to step down.

She made it clear, though, that the Trump administration is not taking anything off the table.

“It is clear antisemitism on campus is a civil rights violation, and Harvard has argued, as other elite universities have, that … maybe their First Amendment rights are being abridged,” McMahon said. “This is not about the First Amendment. This is civil rights.

“When you put other students at risk, their safety is of concern,” she added. “And their Jewish students will tell us that they’re even afraid to go to activities on campus. That’s clearly civil rights violations. Yes, that does bear investigation, and we’re not taking anything off the table.”

Harvard has become a target of Trump’s broader crackdown on universities, much of which is in response to last year’s anti-Israel unrest that erupted on campuses across the country.

DOES HARVARD DESERVE WAR WITH TRUMP, OR IS GOVERNMENT OVERSTEPPING? CAMPUS REACTS TO FUNDING BATTLE

On April 11, the Trump administration sent a letter to Garber and Harvard Corporation Lead Member Penny Pritzker outlining the institution’s failures and a list of demands from the White House. In the letter, the administration accused Harvard of failing to uphold civil rights laws and to foster an “environment that produces intellectual creativity.”

The Trump administration threatened to pull federal funding if Harvard did not reform governance and leadership and its hiring and admissions practices by August 2025. The letter emphasized the need for Harvard to change its international admissions process to avoid admitting students who are “hostile” to American values or support terrorism or antisemitism.

Harvard refused to comply with the demands, and Garber said “no government … should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and areas of study and inquiry they can pursue.”

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The Trump administration then froze $2.2 billion in funding to Harvard and is reportedly looking to slash another billion, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The university later filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over its “unlawful” freezing of funds.

Fox News Digital’s Greg Norman, Andrea Margolis, Stephen Sorace and Bonny Chu contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” appears to be in peril as of late Thursday afternoon, ahead of a critical meeting by the House Budget Committee to bring the legislation close to a House-wide vote.

At least three Republicans on the committee are expected to vote against advancing the bill, a multitrillion-dollar piece of legislation aimed at enacting Trump’s priorities on tax, the border, immigration, defense, energy and raising the debt limit.

GOP Reps. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., and Ralph Norman, R-S.C., both told Fox News Digital they would vote against the bill in committee in its current form.

Norman said Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, also would vote against the bill. Roy himself signaled he was opposed to the legislation both on X and in comments to reporters.

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

“Right now, the House proposal fails to meet the moment. It does not meaningfully change spending (Medicaid expansion to able bodied, [Inflation Reduction Act] subsidies). Plus many of the decent provisions and cuts, don’t begin until 2029 and beyond. That is swamp accounting to dodge real savings,” Roy wrote Thursday on X.

Other members of the committee also suggested they had concerns.

Rep. Josh Brecheen, R-Okla., told Fox News Digital he wanted the Friday morning meeting delayed.

And Rep. Glenn Grothman, R-Wis., a rank-and-file member who is not known for defying House Republican leaders, said the legislation did not seem “sincere” and would not reveal how he will vote.

With one expected absence for Republicans on the House Budget Committee, the GOP can only afford one “no” vote to still advance the legislation.

Once the bill is passed through the House Budget Committee, it must then come before the House Rules Committee — which sets terms for debating the bill House-wide — before it is weighed by all House lawmakers.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has said he wants the legislation to pass the House by Memorial Day.

“I think we’re on schedule,” Johnson told reporters leaving a conference-wide meeting on the bill Thursday afternoon. 

He also said he was confident Budget Committee Republicans could advance the bill on Friday.

“I’m talking to everybody and I think we’re gonna get this thing done on the schedule that we proposed,” Johnson said in response to conservative concerns.

Both Norman and Roy have complained that the legislation’s provisions aimed at curbing abuse of the Medicaid system and rolling back former President Joe Biden’s green energy subsidies in the Inflation Reduction Act did not go far enough.

Timing is among their key concerns on both fronts. Conservatives have issues with Medicaid work requirements not going into effect until 2029, the end of Trump’s term. They also questioned what they saw as a delay in phasing out green energy tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act. 

“I questioned the timing on work requirements, I questioned the IRS phase-outs. I didn’t get an answer on that,” Norman told reporters after the Thursday afternoon meeting. “My point is, we need to have answers before it hits the floor.”

Clyde told Fox News Digital of his opposition, “I’m a NO on advancing the budget reconciliation bill out of the Budget Committee in its current form.”

“I’m actively involved in negotiations to improve this package, and I’m hopeful that we will do so quickly in order to successfully deliver on President Trump’s agenda for the American people,” he said.

Another issue at hand involves continued tensions over state and local tax (SALT) deductions, which primarily affect high cost-of-living states — and Republicans representing critical swing districts within blue states.

The Trump bill currently would raise the SALT deduction cap from $10,000 for single and married tax filers to $30,000 — a number that’s not enough for a group of moderate House Republicans that’s large enough to sink the final bill.

Conservative fiscal hawks have said higher SALT deduction caps must be paired with deeper spending cuts.

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

“SALT is a pay-for,” Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., who is not on the budget committee, said in response to conservatives asking for offsets. 

He pointed out that SALT deduction caps would be eliminated entirely if Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), which Republicans want to extend permanently via this bill, is allowed to expire.

“The fact is, if the tax bill expires, the cap on SALT expires, which means it goes back to unlimited. So any cap is a savings within the bill,” Lawler said. “So this idea that we need to find a pay-for, that’s not an us problem. That’s other people’s problems.”

But Rep. Nick LaLota, R-N.Y., another SALT Caucus member, signaled he would be OK with moving up the deadline on Medicaid work requirements in exchange for raising the SALT deduction cap.

House GOP leaders are expected to continue negotiating with both groups, however.

Both Johnson and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., said they expected the Budget Committee meeting to go on as planned.

House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, however, seemed less optimistic.

“We’ll see,” he said when asked about the Friday meeting, adding the likely “no” votes are “potentially enough to delay it.”

Congressional Republicans are moving Trump’s agenda via the budget reconciliation process.

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By lowering the Senate’s threshold for passage down to the House’s own simple majority requirement, it allows the party in control of both chambers and the White House to pass vast pieces of legislation while entirely sidelining the minority — in this case, Democrats.

Eleven House committees have cobbled together individual portions of the bill, which will be put back into a framework that the House Budget Committee will consider Friday morning.

Then it must head to the Senate, which will likely amend the bill, which then must sync up with the House before arriving on Trump’s desk for a signature.

Former head of the FBI James Comey is getting lambasted online after he shared a social post that many people perceived as a “hit” on President Donald Trump’s life.

The post included the numbers “86 47” etched in the sand at a beach using seashells. “Cool shell formation on my beach walk…” Comey captioned the Thursday post.

While to some people the numbers may appear innocuous, “86” is frequently used as a call sign for murdering or getting rid of someone, while “47” is for the 47th President of the United States.

HOUSE REPUBLICANS MULL CONSEQUENCES FOR DEMS WHO ‘STORMED’ ICE FACILITY

Following backlash on social media over the post, including from at least one lawmaker who called for Comey to be arrested, Comey deleted the post shared to his Instagram and put up a message addressing it.

“I posted earlier a picture of some shells I saw today on a beach walk, which I assumed were a political message,” the subsequent post from Comey read. “I didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence. It never occurred to me but I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down.” 

The FBI, where Comey used to work before he was fired by Trump during his first term, had no comment on the matter, but it was also apparent that people at the top levels of the agency were aware of the post. However, Trump’s new FBI director, Kash Patel, acknowledged on X that agency personnel were “aware” of Comey’s post.

“We are in communication with the Secret Service and Director Curran,” Patel added in his post. “Primary jurisdiction is with SS on these matters and we, the FBI, will provide all necessary support.” 

WHITE HOUSE RIPS HOUSE DEMS TRYING TO HIJACK TRUMP’S GULF OF AMERICA PLANS

White House Deputy Chief of Staff and Cabinet Secretary Taylor Budowich also weighed in on X.

“While President Trump is currently on an international trip to the Middle East, the former FBI Director puts out what can clearly be interpreted as ‘a hit’ on the sitting President of the United States—a message etched in the sand,” she wrote on X. “This is deeply concerning to all of us and is being taken seriously.”

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“Arrest Comey,” Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., added in his own post about the matter.

The State Department said nuclear talks between the U.S. and Iran have been constructive, and President Donald Trump has been clear about wanting to see diplomacy.

U.S. State Department deputy spokesperson Tommy Pigott was asked during a press briefing Thursday about comments made by Trump, and he said the U.S. and Iran were close to an Iran nuclear deal.

Trump, speaking in Doha, Qatar, said he thinks the U.S. and Iran “are getting close” to making a deal without any violence. In Trump fashion, he said there are two steps — “a very nice step and a violent step” — which he added consists of violence people have never seen before.

The president also said Thursday in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), that the U.S. and Iran have “sort of” agreed to terms on a nuclear deal.

TRUMP SAYS IRAN MUST DITCH ‘CONCEPT OF A NUCLEAR WEAPON’ AHEAD OF MORE TALKS

“Iran has sort of agreed to the terms. They’re not going to make — I call it, in a friendly way — nuclear dust,” Trump told reporters, suggesting a growing alignment with the terms he has been seeking. “We’re not going to be making any nuclear dust in Iran.”

While Pigott would not comment on private diplomatic conversations or negotiations, he reiterated Trump’s stance on the matter.

“The president has been clear that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon,” Pigott told reporters. “The talks have been described as constructive by the participants in them, and so, again, Iran can never have a nuclear weapon. And the president has been clear. He wants diplomacy. He wants to see a diplomatic solution here.”

Pigott made his remarks as Trump tours the Middle East, making stops in Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

TRUMP CALLS FOR ‘NUCLEAR PEACE AGREEMENT’ WITH IRAN RATHER THAN BLOWING COUNTRY ‘TO SMITHEREENS’

Trump, while speaking at the Gulf Cooperation Council in Riyadh Wednesday, reiterated his desire to make a deal with Iran and called for building upon the progress of the Abraham Accords by adding more countries to the historic agreement.

Trump made the comments while addressing leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council as part of his four-day visit to the region. 

TRUMP SAYS HE’LL BE ‘LEADING THE PACK’ TO WAR WITH IRAN IF DEAL PROSPECTS WHITHER AWAY

“I want to make a deal with Iran. I want to do something if possible. But for that to happen, it must stop sponsoring terror, halt its bloody proxy wars and permanently and verifiably cease its pursuit of nuclear weapons. They cannot have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said.

Though Trump said he wants to make a deal with Iran and see Tehran prosper, he also recently accused the Iranian regime of not only hurting its own nation, but the region at large.

“Iran’s leaders have focused on stealing their people’s wealth to fund terror and bloodshed abroad. Most tragic of all, they have dragged down an entire region with them,” Trump said. 

The president pointed to the “countless lives lost” in Iran’s effort to prop up the former Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria, which collapsed in December, and accused its support of Hezbollah for the downfall of Beirut, which he said was “once called the Paris of the Middle East.”

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It is unclear how Trump’s negative comments toward Tehran could affect ongoing nuclear negotiations with Iran.

Still, The Associated Press reported Thursday that a top political, military and nuclear advisor to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, told NBC News Wednesday that Tehran stands ready to get rid of its stockpiles of highly enriched uranium that can be weaponized, agree to enrich uranium only to the lower levels needed for civilian use and allow international inspectors to supervise the process.

In return, Ali Shamkhani, the advisor, said Iran wants an immediate lifting of all economic sanctions.

Fox News Digital’s Bradford Betz and Caitlin McFall and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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…

-Trump highlights potential pay raise for troops, touts military reforms in Qatar speech

-Dems divided on Trump’s executive order aimed at slashing drug prices

–Supreme Court Chief Justice Roberts reins in Sotomayor after repeated interruptions

Birthright Debate 

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments Thursday in a challenge to President Donald Trump‘s effort to end birthright citizenship, a case that could more broadly call into question the powers of lower courts to block executive branch actions.  

It’s unclear when the justices will rule, but their decision to fast-track the case means an opinion or order could come within weeks — or even days.

Justices across the ideological spectrum appeared to agree Thursday that the use of universal injunctions has surged in recent years — blocking actions by both Democratic and Republican presidents.

White House

WHY WOULD HE GO?’: Trump to skip Russia-Ukraine peace talks, calls Zelenskyy the ‘greatest salesman, maybe in history’

TRUMP OF ARABIA: Trump makes historic UAE trip in first U.S. presidential visit in nearly 30 years

‘VERY SIMPLE’: Trump warns Iran faces ‘violence like people haven’t seen before’ if nuclear deal fails

‘TRUMP’S EXCEPTIONAL EFFORTS’: UAE’s president bestows highest civilian honor on Trump

‘IT’S THE LAW’: Espionage, constitutional concerns abound from Trump detractors, allies over Qatari jet offer

POLL POSITION: Trump’s poll position improves as president’s approval ratings edge up in new national survey
 

World Stage

‘DESTRUCTION OR DISRUPTION’: Hidden communications devices found in Chinese solar power inverters spark security alarm

Capitol Hill

‘NO DOUBT’: Dem senator says ‘no doubt’ Biden declined cognitively during presidency

TAX-CUT DAY: GOP reps, advocacy group to target competitive House districts in Trump tax-cut push

PLANES, TRAINS, AND INVESTIGATIONS: House Dems open investigation into Trump’s acceptance of $400 million jet from Qatar

Across America 

SUPREME SMACKDOWN: Justice Kagan snaps at Trump lawyer in major case: ‘Every court has ruled against you’

‘DISTURBING’ CONDUCT: US attorney for Massachusetts says interference with ICE operations is ‘disturbing,’ threatens arrests

JUDGE IS IN: Jeanine Pirro sworn in as interim US attorney

‘LEAVING AMERICANS VULNERABLE’: US military would be unleashed on enemy drones on the homeland if bipartisan bill passes

NEW GAME: Harvard updates lawsuit after Trump cancels additional $450M in funding

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

A member of the House of Representatives’ progressive “Squad” is reviving legislation aimed at giving reparations payments to Black Americans for slavery.

Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pa., reintroduced a resolution Thursday that, if passed, could give federal dollars to the descendants of enslaved people brought from Africa to the United States. 

Former Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., who lost her 2024 primary to a more moderate Democrat, introduced the reparations bill in the last Congress. Bush’s bill, unveiled in May 2023, called for $14 trillion to be put toward reparations payments for descendants of slavery in the United States, but it did not go anywhere. 

“We say to the rest of America: If you are truly committed to justice, as you try to say you are, you cannot look away. You cannot turn your back on the demand for reparations, because until there is repair, there will be no justice. And where there is no justice, we will continue to fight. We’re not going anywhere. We are awake. We are organized, and we will win. Reparations now,” Bush said alongside progressive Democrat Reps. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., and Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., at Lee’s announcement.

HOUSE DEMOCRAT TO INTRODUCE REPARATIONS PUSH, DECLARES ‘MORAL OBLIGATION’ TO SEND TRILLIONS TO BLACK AMERICANS

Pressley reintroduced a reparations bill during Black History Month this year with Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., rejecting the “unprecedented onslaught against diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives from the Trump Administration.”

HOUSE DEMS REINTRODUCE REPARATIONS LEGISLATION: ‘WE REFUSE TO BE SILENT’

“Trump’s policies are nothing but anti-Blackness on steroids,” Pressley said Thursday before adding, “This America wants to make America Jim Crow again, and then some.”

“Reparations are a necessary step towards true equity in our country, and a more just future. There is an opportunity for Congress to confront our nation’s racist history of slavery and White supremacy. We must provide the descendants of enslaved Black families with the reparations they were promised,” Tlaib added. 

It’s an effort mounted by progressive Democrats every year, but one that has little chance of passing.

That’s especially true for the 119th Congress, which is controlled by Republicans while President Donald Trump is also in the White House.

One longtime GOP lawmaker, House Science Committee Chair Brian Babin, R-Texas, even introduced legislation earlier this year to pull federal funding from state and local jurisdictions that enacted reparations policies.

“We know there will be pushback,” Lee said Thursday, adding, “Reparations are a proposal to level the playing field, but the only way we could ever have a level playing field is by remedying the harms that have been done by the system.”

But Lee signaled on Wednesday that the long odds would not deter her.

“When we think about the debt that is owed through our country . . . the Trump administration and the Republican Party talks a lot about paying our debts. This is one of them,” Lee told Fox News.

The Pennsylvania progressive argued that the U.S. government crafted policies that intentionally disadvantaged Black Americans.

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“They were not theoretical, but they were harms from government policies and practices and laws. There were real laws that were on the book that caused systemic disadvantages. They created systemic advantages for other people. So you can never have equal footing until you remedy that,” Lee said.

Despite a flurry of polling so far this year indicating the Democratic Party’s favorability sinking to record lows, veteran Democrat strategist and pundit James Carville remains optimistic, as he points to recent ballot box victories by his party.

“You can’t discount people winning elections,” Carville told Fox News Digital on Thursday.

Carville spoke the day after a new survey from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research was the latest to spell trouble for the Democratic Party, six months after they suffered setbacks up and down the ballot at the hands of now-President Donald Trump and Republicans.

The Democratic Party has been in the political wilderness since last November’s elections, when Republicans won back control of the White House and the Senate and defended their fragile House majority. And Republicans made gains among Black and Hispanic voters as well as younger voters, all traditional members of the Democratic Party’s base.

ON THE RISE; NEW POLL INDICATES TRUMP’S APPROVAL RATINGS EDGING UP

According to the survey, only about one-third of Democrats are very or somewhat optimistic about the future of the Democratic Party. That’s a steep decline from last July, when around six in 10 Democrats said they were optimistic. The survey, conducted May 1-5, points to an increase in optimism among Republicans, with 55% more optimistic about the future of the GOP, up from 47% last summer.

HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLLING

Since Trump’s return to power earlier this year, an increasingly energized base of Democrats is urging party leaders to take a stronger stand in pushing back against the president’s sweeping and controversial agenda during the opening months of his second administration. And their anger is directed not only at Republicans, but also at Democrats they feel aren’t vocal enough in their opposition to Trump.

And that’s fueled the plunge in the Democratic Party’s favorable ratings, which have hit historic lows in several recent surveys.

The Democrats’ ratings stood underwater in the most recent Fox News national poll at 41% favorable and 56% unfavorable in a survey conducted April 18-21.

That’s an all-time low for the Democrats in Fox News polling. And for the first time in a decade, the party’s standing was lower than that of the GOP, which stood at 44% favorable and 54% unfavorable.

The figures were reversed last summer, when Fox News last asked the party favorability question in one of its surveys.

The Democratic Party’s favorable ratings were well in negative territory in a Pew Research national survey – 38% favorable, 60% unfavorable – conducted in early April and at 36% favorable, 60% unfavorable in a Wall Street Journal poll in the field a couple of weeks earlier.

And national polls conducted in February by Quinnipiac University and in March by CNN and by NBC News also indicated the favorable ratings for the Democratic Party sinking to all-time lows.

Confidence in the Democratic Party’s congressional leadership sunk to an all-time low, according to a Gallup poll conducted early last month.

The confidence rating for Democrats’ leadership in Congress stood at 25% in the survey, which was nine points below the previous low of 34% recorded in 2023.

And the semi-annual Harvard Youth Poll, which was released late last month, indicated that approval ratings for Democrats in Congress among Americans aged 18-29 nosedived.

“I don’t doubt any of that’s true,” Carville told Fox News. “But there’s one thing: We’re winning elections left and right as we’re talking about how the Democratic number or image is low.”

John Ewing, Jr., a Democrat, this week ousted a longtime Republican mayor in Omaha, Nebraska, a blue dot in a reliably red state. Ewing will become Omaha’s first Black mayor.

Last month, the Democrat-aligned candidate comfortably defeated the Republican-aligned candidate in a Wisconsin state Supreme Court election. The high-profile and expensive campaign grabbed plenty of national attention and outside money.

Democrats have also performed very well so far this year in special elections, including flipping red state Senate seats in Iowa and Pennsylvania.

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In addition to looking back, Carville also pointed ahead to November’s gubernatorial election in Virginia, where Democrats hope to win back the governor’s office in Richmond.

“Let’s see what’s going to happen in Virginia,” said Carville, who first grabbed national attention for his work as a lead strategist on former President Bill Clinton’s successful 1992 presidential campaign.

And Carville predicted that “we’re going to win that.”

Harvard University on Tuesday filed an update to its lawsuit against the Trump administration after another $450 million of research funding was cut.

The Ivy League school amended the lawsuit hours after the federal government’s Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism announced that eight federal agencies were terminating approximately $450 million in grants over what is described as Harvard’s “radical” and “dark problem” on campus.

“Harvard University has repeatedly failed to confront the pervasive race discrimination and anti-Semitic harassment plaguing its campus,” the task force said in a statement.

The latest freeze comes in addition to the already frozen $2.2 billion in funding to the university and threats by the Trump administration to revoke its tax-exempt status. 

HARVARD PRESIDENT CLAIMS ‘UNFOUNDED RETALIATION’ AMID TRUMP FUNDING FEUD

Harvard filed the initial lawsuit in April to block the initial $2.2 billion freeze.

In its amended lawsuit, Harvard said much of the funding that was initially frozen has now been terminated, apparently with no hope of restoring it.

A May 6 letter from the National Institute of Health notified Harvard that grants were being cut over allegations of campus antisemitism. It said grants are typically suspended pending an opportunity to take corrective action, but “no corrective action is possible here,” according to the lawsuit.

HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT TAKES 25% PAY CUT AMID TRUMP ADMINISTRATION FUNDING FREEZE

Harvard later received similar letters from the Defense Department, Department of Energy, Department of Agriculture and other agencies, according to the suit. It’s seeking to have those cuts overturned.

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As the school faces funding challenges from the Trump administration, Harvard University President Alan Garber has agreed to voluntarily take a 25% reduction in pay for the 2025-26 school year. Other leaders at the institution are also making their own voluntary contributions, a Harvard University spokesperson told Fox News on Wednesday.

Fox News Digital’s Greg Wehner and Fox News’ Kitty Le Claire, along with The Associated Press, contributed to this report.

FIRST ON FOX: House Democrats are opening an investigation into President Donald Trump and his administration’s acceptance of a $400 million private jet from the Qatari government.

Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, led his fellow Democrats on the panel in a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and White House counsel David Warrington on Thursday.

They’re specifically asking Bondi to hand over a reported legal memo she wrote that is meant to assert the legality of Trump accepting the plane on behalf of the U.S.

“Any legal memo purporting to make such a claim would obviously fly in the face of the text of the Constitution’s Foreign Emoluments Clause, which explicitly prohibits the President from accepting any ‘present [or] Emolument … of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State’ unless he has ‘the Consent of Congress,'” the letter reads.

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

“Accordingly, we are writing to request that you provide the Committee on the Judiciary with these memos immediately as their analysis and conclusions are apparently the basis for the President’s decision to disregard the plain text of the Constitution.”

Raskin and the other Judiciary Committee Democrats went so far as to accuse Trump or people in his orbit of soliciting a bribe from Qatar.

“President Trump’s statements expressing displeasure with delays in the delivery of his new Boeing aircraft to serve as Air Force One and the timing of this ‘gift’ suggest that President Trump or a member of his Administration may have improperly solicited this ‘nice gesture’ from the Qatari government,” the Democrats said, citing Trump’s own comments.

“The fact that, according to President Trump, the plane would not remain in service to the United States but would rather be donated to his presidential library after his term concludes further raises the possibility that this ‘nice gesture’ is intended as a bribe to Donald Trump.”

Multiple outlets reported that Bondi and Warrington drafted a legal memo that said it was “legally permissible” for Trump to accept the plane and then have it transferred to his presidential library when he leaves office.

A source familiar with the discussions told Fox News Digital the memo was drafted by the Office of Legal Counsel and signed by Bondi.

But Democrats suggested the memo was likely not sufficient grounds for Trump to bypass Congress on the issue, and pointed out Bondi herself had previously lobbied on Qatar’s behalf.

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

“The Constitution is clear: Congress—not the Attorney General or the White House Counsel—has the exclusive authority to approve or reject a gift ‘of any kind whatever’ given to the President by a foreign government,” the letter said.

“We would also note that, even if the Attorney General had a constitutional role to play here, Attorney General Bondi has a significant and obvious conflict of interest given her prior registration as an official agent of the Qatari government and earned no less than $115,000 per month lobbying on its behalf.”

When reached for comment on the matter, a source close to Bondi said only that the letter was received by the Department of Justice (DOJ).

In addition to looking for the memo itself, the Democratic letter also asked for any communications and other records regarding the Boeing plane’s transfer, and discussions of the gift’s legal justifications.

Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee have little power to compel Trump administration officials to comply, given their status as the minority party in the chamber.

But Raskin has been scrutinizing Trump and his inner circle over family foreign ties since the former president’s first term.

The latest letter comes during Trump’s diplomatic visit to the Middle East, where Qatar was one of his stops.

Trump has defended his acceptance of the plane on multiple occasions, arguing he would be a “stupid person” to not take it, while bashing Democrats for their criticism.

“So the fact that the Defense Department is getting a GIFT, FREE OF CHARGE, of a 747 aircraft to replace the 40 year old Air Force One, temporarily, in a very public and transparent transaction, so bothers the Crooked Democrats that they insist we pay, TOP DOLLAR, for the plane. Anybody can do that! The Dems are World Class Losers!!!” Trump wrote on Truth Social this week.

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Senate Republicans said they knew little when asked by Fox News Digital earlier this week.

Meanwhile, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., skirted around the issue during his most recent weekly press conference.

“I’m not following all the twists and turns of the charter jet. My understanding is it’s not a personal gift for the President of the United States, and other nations give us gifts all the time, but, I’m going to leave it to the administration. They know much more about the details,” Johnson told reporters.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment but did not immediately hear back.

Justice Elena Kagan grilled U.S. Solicitor General John Sauer on the practicalities of ending universal injunctions on Thursday, a major sticking point in a highly watched case centered on birthright citizenship and the power of lower courts to rule against the executive branch. 

Kagan pressed Sauer Thursday on the practicalities of ending universal injunctions and how the higher court should then be tasked with managing the flow of lower court challenges. 

She also noted that the Trump administration has been “losing uniformly” in lower court cases on the “substantive question” in dealing with birthright citizenship.

SUPREME COURT TAKES ON BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP: LIBERALS BALK AT TRUMP ARGUMENT TO END NATIONWIDE INJUNCTIONS

“If I were in your shoes, there’s no way I’d approach the Court with this case!” Kagan quipped.

After he attempted to answer, she responded that “This is not a hypothetical – this is happening out there.”

“Every court is ruling against you.”

Justices on the High Court agreed in April to hear the case, which centers on three lower courts that issued national injunctions earlier this year blocking President Donald Trump‘s executive order on birthright citizenship. 

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The order reinterprets the 14th Amendment to deny automatic U.S. citizenship to children born in the U.S. if their mother is unlawfully present or temporarily in the country, and if their father is neither a U.S. citizen nor a lawful permanent resident at the time of birth. Trump’s action remains on hold nationwide pending Supreme Court intervention. 

A Supreme Court decision here could have sweeping national implications, setting a precedent that would affect the more than 310 federal lawsuits that have challenged White House actions since Trump’s second presidency began on Jan. 20, 2025, according to a Fox News data analysis.