NationalWatch

While it is still uncertain whether President Donald Trump‘s dismissal of Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, who is preparing a legal challenge, will succeed, her potential departure gives him another chance to install a nominee more attuned to his monetary priorities.

The Federal Reserve Board of Governors, commonly known as the Fed board, is composed of seven members, or governors, who are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. 

TRUMP SAYS HE’S ‘ALWAYS’ READY FOR LEGAL FIGHT AS OUSTED FED GOVERNOR PLANS LAWSUIT

If Trump replaces Cook, he would have named the majority of the Fed’s governors, strengthening his influence over the panel that guides U.S. monetary policy.

Former President Joe Biden appointed Philip Jefferson, Michael Barr and Cook to the Fed board in 2022. Trump’s picks include Michelle Bowman in 2018, Christopher Waller in 2020 and Stephen Miran in 2025. 

Former President Barack Obama nominated Jerome Powell to the Fed board in 2012, Trump nominated Powell to his current role as chairman of the Federal Reserve in 2017, and Biden reappointed him in 2022.

TRUMP NAMES REPLACEMENT FOR FED SEAT; STILL LOOKING FOR PERMANENT APPOINTEE

When asked about replacing Cook, Trump told reporters at the White House on Tuesday that he has some “very good people for that position.” 

“We’ll have a majority very shortly,” Trump said. “So that’ll be great.”

Tensions between Trump and the Federal Reserve over monetary policy have intensified in recent months. Trump has placed the blame squarely on Powell for not lowering the federal funds target rate, which he says could save the nation “hundreds of billions of dollars.” 

Meanwhile, Powell has kept the central bank’s key borrowing rate target within a range of 4.25% to 4.5%, maintaining a measured, wait-and-see approach as officials gauge the economic effects of Trump’s tariffs.

A LOOK AT THE UNFOLDING BATTLE BETWEEN TRUMP AND POWELL OVER FED POLICY

Cook’s ascension marked a historic first, as she became the first Black woman to serve as a governor on the Fed board. Now, her potential removal from that same role could mark another historic first.

As it stands, Trump says Cook is fired, effective immediately. But Cook and her lawyer, Abbe Lowell, argue that Trump has no legal authority to remove her. Her term on the Fed board runs until January 2038.

The Federal Reserve acknowledged Cook’s potential legal action and said in a Tuesday statement that the U.S. central bank will “abide by any court decision.”

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“Lisa Cook has indicated through her personal attorney that she will promptly challenge this action in court and seek a judicial decision that would confirm her ability to continue to fulfill her responsibilities as a Senate-confirmed member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System,” a Federal Reserve spokesperson wrote in a statement to Fox News Digital.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Salvadoran man at the center of widely watched legal wranglings with the federal government, is making a fresh bid for asylum in the U.S., and he is also pushing back against the government’s plan to remove him to Uganda, and instead suggesting Costa Rica.

“At 5pm yesterday, Petitioner filed a motion to reopen before an immigration judge pursuant to 8 C.F.R. §1003.23(b)(4)(i), to seek asylum in the United States pursuant to 8 U.S.C. §1158,” a Tuesday court filing noted.

Abrego Garcia — who was arrested at an ICE facility on Monday, could be heard saying, “gobierno corrupto,” which translates to “corrupt government,” in a video posted on X by the Department of Homeland Security.

ABREGO GARCIA HEARD SAYING TWO WORDS DURING ICE ARREST

“I, Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia … hereby state that I fear persecution in UGANDA on account of my race, nationality, political opinion, and membership in a particular social group,” he claimed in a document titled “Notice of Fear of Removal to UGANDA. 

“I also fear torture by or at the acquiescence of a public official in that country. Finally, I feat [sic] that country will refoul me (re-deport me) to EL SALVADOR, where I also fear persecution on account of the above-mentioned protected grounds and torture by or at the acquiescence of a public official, and where I have been tortured in the past.”

Costa Rica has indicated that it would be willing to accept him, and Abrego Garcia has expressed that as his preference.

FEDERAL JUDGE TEMPORARILY BARS ABREGO GARCIA FROM DEPORTATION TO UGANDA

Back in 2019, an immigration judge signed an order denying Abrego Garcia’s application for asylum, but granted an application for withholding of removal. 

But earlier this year, the U.S. removed him to El Salvador. 

Following legal wranglings, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that the Salvadoran man had “landed in the United States to face justice,” noting that the U.S. “government presented El Salvador with an arrest warrant, and they agreed to return him to our country.” 

TOP TRUMP AGENCY TORCHES DEM LAWMAKERS RALLYING AROUND DETAINED ABREGO GARCIA: ‘IT IS INSANE’

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A grand jury returned an indictment against him earlier this year that included a count for “Conspiracy to Transport Aliens” and a count for “Unlawful transportation of undocumented aliens.” 

He pleaded not guilty.

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) employees who signed an open letter slamming the Trump administration’s leadership of the office have been placed on leave, with FEMA leadership subsequently slamming the “bureaucrats who presided over decades of inefficiency” for “objecting to reform.”

More than 190 current and former FEMA employees signed an open letter Monday criticizing the Trump administration, criticizing leaders they say lack the qualifications to oversee an agency focused on the nation’s preparation and response to disasters. The letter claimed a catastrophe on par with Hurricane Katrina could unfold due to the current climate of the office. 

By Wednesday morning, more than a dozen FEMA employees who signed the letter were placed on leave, The Washington Post reported. 

“It is not surprising that some of the same bureaucrats who presided over decades of inefficiency are now objecting to reform,” a FEMA spokesperson told Fox News Digital when asked about the letter and employees who were placed on leave. “Change is always hard. It is especially for those invested in the status quo, who have forgotten that their duty is to the American people, not entrenched bureaucracy.” 

KENTUCKY GOVERNOR PRAISES FEMA UNDER TRUMP, SAYS ITS A ‘CREDIT TO HIS ADMINISTRATION’

The spokesperson did not reveal how many FEMA employees were placed on leave after the letter’s publication. 

“Under the Biden administration, the American people were abandoned as disasters ravaged North Carolina and needed aid was denied based on party affiliation in Florida,” the spokesperson continued. “Our obligation is to survivors, not to protecting broken systems. Under the leadership of Secretary Noem, FEMA will return to its mission of assisting Americans at their most vulnerable.”

The nonprofit Stand Up for Science published the open letter Monday, directed to Congress, claiming FEMA is led by individuals who lack the “legal qualifications, Senate approval, and the demonstrated background” to oversee federal disaster preparation and response. The letter took direct aim at FEMA and Department of Homeland Security leaders such as Secretary Kristi Noem. 

“Decisions made by FEMA’s Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Administrator (SOPDA) David Richardson, Former SOPDA Cameron Hamilton, and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem erode the capacity of FEMA and our State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial (SLTT) partners, hinder the swift execution of our mission, and dismiss experienced staff whose institutional knowledge and relationships are vital to ensure effective emergency management,” the letter claimed. 

SENATOR PETER WELCH: I’M A DEMOCRAT AND WE NEED TO FIX FEMA WITH LOCAL CONTROL

Hurricane Katrina in 2005 was one of the worst disasters to hit the United States in recent history, leading to 1,833 fatalities, more than $100 billion in damages and thousands of homeless New Orleanians, data from the National Weather Service shows. The letter claimed that such a disaster could rock the U.S. again due to the current state of the agency. 

“Hurricane Katrina was not just a natural disaster, but a man-made one: the inexperience of senior leaders and the profound failure by the federal government to deliver timely, unified, and effective aid to those in need left survivors to fend for themselves for days, and highlighted how Black, Indigenous, and low-income communities are disproportionally affected by disasters,” the letter states. 

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S TEXAS FLOOD DISASTER RESPONSE ‘FUNDAMENTALLY DIFFERENT’ FROM BIDEN’S APPROACH: NOEM

“These failures prompted Congress to pass the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 (PKEMRA), which introduced safeguards to ensure such shortcomings of disaster preparation and response would not be repeated,” it continued. “However, two decades later, FEMA is enacting processes and leadership structures that echo the conditions PKEMRA was designed to prevent.” 

President Donald Trump and Noem have both expressed dissatisfaction with FEMA since taking their respective offices. Trump warned just days after his inauguration that the agency would face a reckoning over its failures to respond to the devastating floods that rocked North Carolina when Hurricane Helene ripped through the southeastern U.S. in September 2024. 

NOEM SAYS CRITICISM OF FEDERAL RESPONSE TO TEXAS FLOODING IS ‘ALL POLITICS’: ‘DISSERVICE TO OUR COUNTRY’

“Get rid of FEMA the way it exists today,” Noem said in February on CNN when asked what she would advise Trump if he asked her to do away with the agency. 

Both Noem and Trump have advocated for local officials — such as county emergency management directors, mayors, city council members and commissioners — to lead disaster preparation and response as opposed to federal leadership. 

The letter published Monday included the full names of at least 35 former and current FEMA employees, while the majority were “unlisted” signatures.

Signatories took issue with six initiatives under the Trump administration specifically, including “reduction in capability of FEMA to perform its missions,” the “failure to appoint a qualified FEMA administrator,” the “reduction of FEMA’s disaster workforce” and “the censorship of climate science, environmental protection, and efforts to ensure all communities have access to information, resources.”

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FEMA is led by David Richardson, who replaced former acting FEMA chief Cameron Hamilton in May after Hamilton’s departure from the agency just days after telling members of Congress that he does not believe FEMA should be eliminated. 

Longtime government scientist Susan Monarez is refusing to leave her position as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) after the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced she had been removed from the role less than a month after she was sworn in.

Attorneys Mark Zaid and Abbe Lowell said they are representing Monarez and claimed she “has neither resigned nor yet been fired.”

The attorneys released a statement on social media, claiming HHS and Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are weaponizing public health for political gain and putting millions of American lives at risk. 

“When CDC Director Susan Monarez refused to rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives and fire dedicated health experts, she chose protecting the public over serving a political agenda,” the statement said. “For that, she has been targeted. Dr. Monarez has neither resigned nor received notification from the White House that she has been fired, and as a person of integrity and devoted to science, she will not resign.”

ABOUT 600 CDC WORKERS TERMINATED AFTER COURT CLEARS PART OF TRUMP ADMIN RESTRUCTURING PLAN

The Washington Post reported that sources within the CDC, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said HHS leaders, including Kennedy, sought to get Monarez to commit to rescinding approvals for certain COVID-19 vaccines. When Monarez did not immediately commit, she was told by administration officials that she must resign or she would be fired. 

Sources also claimed she then attempted to involve the chairman of the Senate’s top health committee, Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La. The move reportedly further angered Kennedy. 

When reached for comment, a spokesperson for the HHS directed Fox News Digital to the agency’s response shared on its official X account.

“Susan Monarez is no longer director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,” HHS said. “We thank her for her dedicated service to the American people. Secretary Kennedy has full confidence in his team at the CDC who will continue to be vigilant in protecting Americans against infectious diseases at home and abroad.”

The White House confirmed to Fox News Digital that Monarez was being removed.

“As her attorney’s statement makes abundantly clear, Susan Monarez is not aligned with the President’s agenda of Making America Healthy Again,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement. “Since Susan Monarez refused to resign despite informing HHS leadership of her intent to do so, the White House has terminated Monarez from her position with the CDC.”

Monarez was tapped by the Trump administration to lead the CDC after its initial nominee, Dave Weldon, withdrew from contention in March amid fears he might not garner enough support in the Senate to be confirmed. Shortly after Weldon stepped down, Monarez was formally nominated to be the CDC’s permanent director and was eventually confirmed in the final week of July.

During Monarez’s confirmation hearing, she expressed support for vaccines and told lawmakers she has “not seen a causal link between vaccines and autism.”

MEDICAL GROUP GOES AGAINST CDC, RECOMMENDS COVID SHOTS FOR YOUNG KIDS 

Prior to Monarez’s Senate confirmation, CDC directors did not typically require Senate approval, but that changed in 2022 when Congress passed a law making it necessary. Monarez was the first-ever Senate-confirmed CDC director in the agency’s history.

Monarez was also the first CDC director without a medical degree in more than seven decades. However, she does hold a Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology.

After getting her doctorate, Monarez entered the federal government, where she found herself in roles at the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy, the National Security Council, the Department of Homeland Security and the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H). Her biography on the CDC’s website says she worked on “leading efforts to enhance the nation’s biomedical innovation capabilities, including combating antimicrobial resistance, expanding the use of wearables to promote patient health, ensuring personal health data privacy, and improving pandemic preparedness.”

Hours after the news that Monarez would no longer head the CDC, sources confirmed to Fox News Digital that at least three other top CDC officials tendered their resignations, including the CDC’s director of its National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Demetre Daskalakis; the director of the National Centers for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Disease, Dr. Daniel Jernigan; and the CDC’s chief medical officer, Debra Houry.

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Daskalakis posted his lengthy resignation letter on X, citing various reasons for his departure, including “the views” of Secretary Kennedy and his staff. 

Daskalakis said he could not continue to work in an administration that treats the CDC “as a tool” to establish policies that “do not reflect scientific reality.” He specifically cited recent changes Kennedy’s HHS has brought to vaccine scheduling for children and adults, arguing it “threaten[s] the lives of the youngest Americans and pregnant people.” 

The former CDC director also cited the administration’s efforts to “erase transgender populations, cease critical domestic and international HIV programming, and terminate key research.”   

Fox News’ David Lewkowict contributed to this report.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates went to the White House on Tuesday for a meeting with the president, according to a Gates spokesperson.

In a statement obtained by Fox News Digital, the spokesperson noted, “Bill met with the president to discuss the importance of U.S. global health programs and health research that is necessary to save lives, protect Americans’ health, and preserve U.S. leadership in the world.”

BILL GATES REVEALS ‘NEXT PHASE OF ALZHEIMER’S FIGHT’ AS HE SHARES DAD’S PERSONAL BATTLE

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

Prior to the president’s inauguration for his second term, Wall Street Journal Editor-in-Chief Emma Tucker asked the mega-wealthy figure whether he had met with Trump since Trump’s victory in the 2024 presidential contest. 

BILL GATES REVEALS HOW MUCH INHERITANCE HE’LL LEAVE FOR KIDS

Gates said that they had a “quite intriguing dinner,” noting that it lasted more than three hours. 

BILL GATES: ‘FOOLISH’ TO SPEND TIME WITH JEFFREY EPSTEIN

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An individual who Gates explained “helps manage things for me” was also present, as well as Susie Wiles, Gates added.

Senator Susan Collins, R-Maine, faced repeated heckling from protesters on Tuesday during a ribbon-cutting ceremony marking the completion of a $9.2 million federally-funded Route 1 reconstruction project. 

Collins’ remarks on securing federal money for the project were repeatedly drowned out, showing both her challenges on the home front and the broader fight for Senate control.

Senator Collins, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, has cast the Route 1 project as a major win for Maine communities. 

Protesters, however, shouted her down with chants of “Shame! Shame! Shame!” while raising grievances over Medicare, Israel policy and her voting history for Trump-supported bills.

‘MAINE’S MAMDANI’: MAINE GOP CHIEF ISSUES WARNING ABOUT NEW CHALLENGER LOOKING TO OUST SUSAN COLLINS

Her Democrat challenger, Graham Platner, quickly seized on the moment, sharing a close-up video of the heckling on X that has nearly 4k likes.

With the Senate hanging by a razor-thin margin, Maine’s race has emerged as one of the most closely watched in the country. Democrats see Collins’ seat as a potential pathway back to control, while Republicans, led by President Trump, are fighting to defend their fragile majority.

“I’m so disgusted with the cuts the Republican Party has made to this Big Ugly Bill…. Get outta here!,” shouted one protester, referencing the “One, Big Beautiful Bill.”

At one point during the ceremony, Collins attempted to reason with the demonstrators. “Could you please just listen, for just one—” she began, before being cut off by a protester shouting, “We’d like you to listen!”

VETERAN WHO SERVED IN MIDDLE EASTERN WARS LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN AGAINST SEN. SUSAN COLLINS

“I have a suggestion. Would you listen to the suggestion?” asked Collins before another protester responded, “Vote Graham Platner!”

Graham Platner is a Democrat candidate seeking to challenge the longtime incumbent moderate Republican, who is facing a spirited reelection battle in an increasingly blue state.

Platner, a Marine and Army veteran turned oyster farmer, frames his candidacy as a fight against what he calls the “billionaire economy.” While his biography as a working-class veteran could resonate in a state with many independents, his policy platform leans hard to the left. He has called for banning billionaires from financing elections, raising the federal minimum wage, establishing postal banking and defending abortion.

He supports aggressive climate regulations, breaking up corporations he labels monopolies and ending what he terms “the mass deportation machine.” Platner has also demanded cuts to Pentagon spending, vowed to “stop pointless wars,” and backs expanding union powers. Those stances put him squarely in the progressive camp and open him to criticism that he is out of step with Maine’s moderates despite his veteran credentials.

Maine Republicans, meanwhile, were quick to paint Platner as out of step with the state. “Graham is a far-left progressive backed by national progressive operatives and environmental extremists. His views would be perfectly suited for a Portland City Council race – not for representing all of Maine,” Jason Savage, the executive director of the Maine Republican Party, told Fox News Digital. A Collins spokesperson likewise dismissed him as “just another progressive entering the race.”

Platner has also brought on Joe Cavello, a former senior aide to Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., as part of his campaign team, and tapped Democratic strategist Morris Katz, an adviser to New York City mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani, to produce his launch video.

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With Republicans clinging to their slim Senate majority, Collins’ reelection fight could help determine whether Trump’s influence continues to shape the legislative agenda or whether Democrats reclaim the upper hand.

Maine’s Senate primary is scheduled for June 9, 2026, with the general election set for Nov. 3, 2026. Senator Susan Collins and Graham Platner did not immediately return Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Pilar Arias 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…

-Federal judge blocks Abrego Garcia deportation through October, extending court fight

–Dem lawmakers call for gun control after Minneapolis school shooting

-House Republicans ready slew of DC crime bills as Trump promises end to street violence

Trump’s DC Crime Crackdown 

President Donald Trump and his allies in Congress are working to solidify his grip on Washington, D.C.

A leadership aide told Fox News Digital on Tuesday that House Republicans are working with the White House on a package of bills “to fix the many problems with D.C. governance and crime.”

Trump all but confirmed the effort in a late-night Truth Social post at midnight on Wednesday stating that House and Senate leaders “are working with me, and other Republicans, on a Comprehensive Crime Bill.”…Read more

White House

CENTRAL BANK SHAKEUP: Cook’s potential exit hands Trump greater sway over Fed Board shaping US monetary policy

‘RALLY’: Trump’s cartel crackdown gains ‘powerful political leverage’ with El Mayo guilty plea

Across America 

WITCH HUNT: Jack Smith’s lawyers blast Hatch Act probe as ‘imaginary and unfounded’

GOLDEN DIVORCE: “2 state solution” — CA Republicans announce plan to split state to blunt redistricting

ASYLUM AT THE PLANT: Chicago Teamsters, backed by mayor, want ICE blocked without warrants in strike fight

SUPPORT LIMBO: Socialist candidate Mamdani meets with NY Dems as they withhold endorsements

TRAGEDY STRIKES: DNC adjourns Minneapolis meeting as breaking news of deadly school shooting unfolds minutes away

SAGA CONTINUES: Abrego Garcia renews push for asylum in US, reveals new country willing to accept him

CASH CRISIS: Kamala Harris fundraising events have been a flop to help raise money for DNC: Report

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

The Trump administration is restoring an immigration policy that was last used under former President George H.W. Bush’s tenure to conduct neighborhood investigations related to immigrants applying for U.S. naturalization, according to a policy memo released Tuesday by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.  

“U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is resuming personal investigations of aliens applying for naturalization in accordance with section 335(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act,” the memo, dated Aug. 22 but released publicly Tuesday, reads. 

The 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act abolished immigration quotas and championed welcoming “those who can contribute most to this country — to its growth, to its strength, to its spirit,” according to President Lyndon B. Johnson’s remarks at the time of him signing the act into law. 

The administration’s revitalization of personal investigations, also called “neighborhood checks,” will include U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services requesting information from immigrants seeking naturalization, such as “testimonial letters from neighbors, employers, co-workers, and business associates who know the alien and can provide substantiated information about the alien, including any of the requirements for naturalization.” 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is an office under the Department of Homeland Security‘s umbrella that oversees the nation’s legal immigration processing. 

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TO VET LEGAL IMMIGRANT APPLICANTS FOR ‘ANTI-AMERICANISM’ AND ANTISEMITISM

The memorandum stated that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services “generally waives the requirements for neighborhood investigations” under the 1965 law, and historically had relied instead on FBI background checks to determine an “applicant’s good moral character and eligibility for naturalization.”

The personal investigations will now include interviewing a naturalization applicant’s neighbors and their employment history stretching back at least a five-year period before an individual applied for naturalization, according to the memo. The checks are to ensure “scrutiny of an alien’s residency, good moral character, attachment to the U.S. Constitution, and disposition to the good order and happiness of the United States.”

TRUMP ADMIN TO WEIGH US CITIZENSHIP APPLICANTS’ ‘POSITIVE CONTRIBUTIONS,’ GOOD MORAL CHARACTER

Such investigations were last conducted in 1991 under the first Bush’s tenure, according to the memo. Similar investigations were carried out on immigrants applying for naturalization as far back as 1802, the memo added. 

“From 1802 to 1981, petitioners for naturalization were required to present two witnesses who could testify to their qualifications for citizenship,” the memo stated. “In 1981, Congress eliminated the requirement for witnesses, a change justified in part by the fact that a petitioner’s character could be better determined by an investigation, including a neighborhood investigation, if necessary.” 

“However, by 1991, the former Immigration and Naturalization Service had essentially stopped conducting neighborhood investigations,” the memo stated. 

TOP DHS OFFICIAL CALLS CITIZENSHIP TEST ‘TOO SOFT,’ URGES MAJOR OVERHAUL OF NATURALIZATION PROCESS

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services celebrated the return of the personal investigations. 

Joseph Edlow, the director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, said in comment provided to Fox News Digital Wednesday that the office “is working to ensure that only the most qualified applicants receive American citizenship.” 

“The Immigration and Nationality Act directs USCIS to conduct personal investigations and incorporating neighborhood investigations will help enhance these statutorily required investigations to ensure that we are meeting congressional intent,” he continued. “Americans should be comforted knowing that USCIS is taking seriously its responsibility to ensure aliens are being properly vetted and are of good moral character, attached to the principles of the Constitution of the United States, and well-disposed to the good order and happiness of the United States.” 

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The move is the latest for the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration that spiraled under the Biden administration. 

Democrats increasingly have spoken out against the Trump administration’s immigration policies, slamming its mass deportation efforts while ramping up visits to detention centers to draw attention to the facilities, the Associated Press reported.  

“Transparency matters. Oversight matters. Accountability matters,” Colorado Democrat Rep. Joe Neguse said in August after visiting a Colorado detention center. “You certainly can expect to see the Democratic members of Colorado’s House delegation continue to lean in on all fronts.”

Former special counsel Jack Smith responded through his lawyers on Tuesday to news that a government watchdog had opened an investigation into his two prosecutions of President Donald Trump, calling the inquiry baseless.

Smith’s attorneys at Covington & Burling wrote in a letter obtained by Fox News to the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) that the predicate for its investigation was “imaginary and unfounded” and that Smith followed all the Department of Justice’s rules and principles in his work.

“Mr. Smith’s actions as Special Counsel were consistent with the decisions of a prosecutor who has devoted his career to following the facts and the law, without fear or favor and without regard for the political consequences, not because of them,” his attorneys wrote.

EX-TRUMP PROSECUTOR JACK SMITH UNDER INVESTIGATION BY GOVERNMENT WATCHDOG OFFICE OF SPECIAL COUNSEL

The OSC is an independent agency unrelated to the DOJ or the special counsels, such as Smith, who have worked at the department.

The OSC, which functions as a watchdog, handles complaints from government whistleblowers and investigates Hatch Act violations by federal employees. It can impose administrative punishments for wrongdoing, including fines or termination from government work. Fox News confirmed this month that the OSC was investigating Smith under the Hatch Act, which bars certain government employees from engaging in political campaign work while on the job.

The OSC’s investigation came after Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., demanded in a letter to the OSC that it look into instances of Smith seeking to expedite Trump’s prosecutions.

“Many of Smith’s legal actions seem to have no rationale except for an attempt to affect the 2024 election results—actions that would violate federal law,” Cotton wrote.

TOP GOP SENATOR DEMANDS PROBE INTO WHETHER JACK SMITH ‘UNLAWFULLY’ TRIED TO INFLUENCE 2024 ELECTION

Smith spent about two years investigating and prosecuting Trump during the Biden administration. He brought two indictments against Trump, one alleging he violated the Espionage Act by mishandling national defense information and another alleging he attempted to subvert the 2020 election. Smith dismissed both cases after Trump won the 2024 election, a move that aligned with longstanding DOJ policy about prosecuting sitting presidents.

Smith’s attorneys wrote that the actions Cotton cited in his letter, including asking courts to move the proceedings along and to give him permission to file longer briefs, were “unremarkable,” standard for a prosecutor and subject to court approval.

“This investigation is premised on a partisan complaint that suggests the ordinary operation of the criminal justice system should be disrupted by the whims of a political contest,” Smith’s attorneys wrote.

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The letter was addressed to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, who is serving as the acting head of the Office of Special Counsel while Trump’s nominee for the role faces roadblocks to Senate confirmation.

The attorneys asked Greer to reach out to them directly before taking any further steps to investigate Smith so that his findings, if any, could be “fully informed by the record.”

Fox News’ David Spunt contributed to this report.

Lawyers for the Trump administration filed an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court on Tuesday night asking the justices to halt a lower court injunction and allow it to freeze billions in foreign aid spending previously allocated by Congress — kicking the issue of USAID funding back to the high court for the second time in roughly six months.

At issue is nearly $12 billion in funding allocated to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and owed by the end of the fiscal year in September. The majority of those funds were axed by President Donald Trump almost immediately after taking office, under the broader mantle of slashing foreign aid and eliminating so-called “waste, fraud, and abuse.”  

U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer told the Supreme Court in an emergency filing Tuesday that, absent intervention from the high court, the Trump administration would be forced to “rapidly obligate some $12 billion in foreign-aid funds” owed by September 30, or the end of the fiscal year.

SCOTUS RULES ON NEARLY $2 BILLION IN FROZEN USAID PAYMENTS

Those payments have been held up in court for months, after President Donald Trump signed an executive order on his first day back in office in January seeking to block nearly all foreign aid spending, as part of his administration’s broader crackdown on waste, fraud, and abuse.

That order was blocked by a federal judge in D.C. earlier this year. That judge, U.S. District Judge Amir Ali, ordered the Trump administration to resume payments on billions of dollars in funding for USAID projects that were previously approved by Congress. 

That order was overturned this month by the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, which ruled 2-1 to vacate the lower court injunction.

TRUMP TEMPORARILY THWARTED IN DOGE MISSION TO END USAID

The appeals court partly vacated Judge Ali’s injunction, rejecting a request from foreign aid groups that had sought to restore the grant payments. The 2-1 majority also ruled that the plaintiffs failed to show Trump had acted “plainly” in excess of his executive branch authorities.

Writing for the majority, Judge Karen L. Henderson, a President George H.W. Bush appointee, said that the plaintiffs lacked the proper cause of action to sue the Trump administration over its decision to withhold the funds, or what is known as impoundment.

But the appeals court has not yet issued a mandate to enforce that ruling — meaning that, for now, the judge’s order, and the payment schedule he previously laid out — remains in place.

FEDERAL JUDGE ORDERS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TO PAY ‘UNLAWFULLY’ RESTRICTED USAID FUNDS

Sauer argued in the emergency Supreme Court appeal that the foreign aid groups, which sued the Trump administration this year in order to claw back some of the grant money, have no legal authority to challenge the executive branch on the matter, which is technically under the legal jurisdiction of the Impoundment Control Act.

“Congress did not upset the delicate interbranch balance by allowing for unlimited, unconstrained private suits,” Sauer wrote. “Any lingering dispute about the proper disposition of funds that the President seeks to rescind shortly before they expire should be left to the political branches, not effectively prejudged by the district court.”

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Plaintiffs, for their part, have argued that the executive branch lacks the authority to unilaterally withhold already-appropriated funds, under the Impoundment Control Act (ICA), as well as the Administrative Procedure Act.

The Supreme Court previously ruled 5-4. 

A Chicago Teamsters local is demanding a packaging company refuse to allow federal immigration enforcement on their property without warrants, as a top tenet of their overall demands.

The workers are seeking assurances from Mauser that it will require ICE to display a warrant signed by a judge before they are allowed on the property.

The strike at Mauser Packaging Solutions’ plant in the heavily-Hispanic “Little Village” neighborhood has lasted more than two months and the Teamsters Local 705 negotiator recently refused the factory’s latest offer, according to multiple reports.

About 140 people work at the plant, which reconditions metal barrels for chemical storage – and a plurality are Latino, according to the American Prospect.

CHICAGO MAYOR CONCLUDES COUNCIL-DEMANDED PROBE OF CITY POLICE’S ROLE DURING RECENT ICE RAID

One striking worker told the outlet that he and others are concerned that ICE may target them on a racial basis even if they are able to prove legal residency.

The Prospect reported the strike began over a separate issue: allegations of employee surveillance during discussions with union representatives amid contract bargaining.

The Illinois-based global company’s striking workers also collected a big-name voice in their court during that time: Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson.

Johnson, a former teachers’ union figure, is familiar with similar situations and also agreed with their aversion to federal law enforcement.

CHICAGO MAYOR CALLS ICE RAIDS ‘TERRORISM,’ SAYS TRUMP’S AMERICA APPEARS AS IF ‘THE CONFEDERACY WOULD HAVE WON’

“This union and this strike is leading the way to ensure that this country knows that workers run this country,” Johnson said while rallying with strikers earlier this month.

He said Mauser’s workers have the right to seek livable wages and environs “at a time in which we have a federal government coming after workers, immigrants, brown and Black people,” according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

Johnson demanded workers get protections to ensure “ICE agents do not get to run amok [or] create fear and come in and disrupt and destabilize our communities and workplaces, whether you are at work, school, church or the barbershop.”

He noted that Chicago is a “welcoming city” – a term increasing in popularity among Democratic leaders due to the political stigma now associated with “sanctuary cities.”

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In his remarks, Johnson also once again referred to President Donald Trump as a “dictator.”

Updated figures from Chicago’s official crime dashboard now show 266 homicides this year, averaging more than one a day.

Fox News Digital reached out to DHS and the Teamsters for comment.

Mauser Packaging Solutions could not immediately be reached for comment. 

Fox News Digital’s Madison Colombo contributed to this report.

FIRST ON FOX: The House Oversight Committee is planning to advance several bills next month to back up President Donald Trump’s crackdown on crime in Washington, D.C., Fox News Digital has learned.

A source familiar with the committee’s work told Fox News Digital that the panel will mark up bills to “combat juvenile crime in D.C., address the D.C. education system, and end restrictive policing policies enacted by the D.C. Council that prevent law enforcement from keeping residents and visitors safe.”

It’s a significant step toward congressional Republicans lining up with Trump’s effort to combat crime in the national capital.

The House Oversight Committee is one of two congressional panels that has jurisdiction over the national capital and its operations, so most House-wide legislation dealing with D.C. crime and other similar matters is likely to originate there.

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The committee is also holding a hearing next month on D.C. crime, scheduled for Sept. 18, with D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, and D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb slated to appear.

House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., did not elaborate on the legislation in a statement to Fox News Digital but vowed that his panel is working to help further Trump’s goals.

“President Trump and House Republicans are committed to making our nation’s capital safe for every resident and visitor. Thanks to President Trump’s swift action, crime in the District of Columbia has dropped dramatically,” Comer said.

148 DEMOCRATS BACK NONCITIZEN VOTING IN DC AS GOP RAISES ALARM ABOUT FOREIGN AGENTS

“The House Oversight Committee stands ready to advance reforms that give D.C. law enforcement the tools they need to protect the public and address the growing juvenile crime crisis. Every person in our nation’s capital deserves to feel safe, and with President Trump, we will make D.C. safe again.”

Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., a member of the committee, previously introduced a bill taking on the issue of juvenile crime by lowering the city’s definition of “youth” from 24 years old to 18, meaning that anyone aged 18 or over would be tried as adults.

It’s not clear if that specific bill is among those being marked up by the committee next month, however.

The House Oversight Committee’s latest plans come after the president announced he was federalizing D.C.’s police force for a period of 30 days as part of an effort to combat crime and beautify the city.

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He’s also deployed the National Guard from both D.C. and around the country to patrol the nation’s capital, in addition to other federal forces.

Trump said overnight Wednesday that House and Senate GOP leaders “are working with me, and other Republicans, on a Comprehensive Crime Bill.”

Meanwhile, a leadership aide told Fox News Digital on Tuesday that House Republicans are working with the White House on a package of bills “to fix the many problems with D.C. governance and crime.”

A federal judge in Maryland issued a court order Wednesday blocking the Trump administration from deporting Kilmar Abrego Garcia from the U.S. until at least October, setting the stage for further court clashes with the government after he was taken into Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody earlier this week. 

U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis on Wednesday extended a temporary restraining order she issued earlier this week, which requires Abrego Garcia to be kept in the continental U.S. — and within 200 miles of the court in Greenbelt, Maryland — until she can consider the emergency motion filed by his attorneys at an evidentiary hearing.

She also set October 6 as the date for the hearing to take place, which both parties agreed to, and said she would rule on the emergency request in the 30 days after.

The update from Xinis keeps Abrego Garcia in the U.S. for at least five more weeks, blocking the Trump administration, for now, from deporting him to a third country such as Uganda. 

ABREGO GARCIA TO APPEAR AT ICE OFFICE IN BALTIMORE AMID TALK OF UGANDA DEPORTATION

It comes after his lawyers on Monday filed an emergency habeas request to keep Abrego Garcia in the U.S. for now until his immigration case can play out via the proper channels, ensuring due process protections — including the right to a reasonable fear interview — before being removed to a third country.

ICE officials notified Abrego Garcia’s attorneys late last week that they planned to arrest him this week and deport him as early as Wednesday to Uganda. The East African nation reached an agreement with the U.S. earlier this month to accept certain deported migrants, though details of the arrangement were not immediately clear.

Justice Department attorney Drew Ensign told Judge Xinis on Wednesday that the Trump administration objected to the court extending the temporary restraining order, though he confirmed in response to her questions that they would voluntarily comply.  

“Your clients are absolutely forbidden at this juncture to remove Mr. Abrego Garcia from the continental United States,” Xinis had stressed to Ensign on Monday, in issuing the now-extended emergency order.

ABREGO GARCIA REMAINS IN US FOR NOW AS JUDGE TAKES CASE UNDER ADVISEMENT

Also on Wednesday, Abrego Garcia’s lawyers told Xinis that they had filed an emergency motion to reopen his immigration case to seek asylum.

That request is outside Xinis’ jurisdiction, and was filed Tuesday in an immigration court in Baltimore.

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Xinis had previously cited concerns over the lack of a known proffer from Uganda detailing what protections or freedoms Abreo Garcia would have in Uganda, compared to information provided by Costa Rica’s government, which had provided written assurances that Abrego Garcia would live freely in the country and not be refouled, or re-deported, to El Salvador.

Justice Department officials had offered Abrego Garcia the option of being removed to Costa Rica last week, as part of a plea deal in exchange for securing his guilty plea on criminal charges related to human smuggling in Tennessee. He declined. 

The top Republican in the State Assembly will announce Wednesday a new bill to split California into two new states along a north-south line as a response to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s mid-decennial redistricting effort, Fox News Digital has learned.

Assemblyman James Gallagher’s plan, laid out in what will be filed as AJR-23, would create a new state featuring its liberal coast and another uniting California’s conservative inland counties.

Gallagher, R-Yuba City, dubbed the move a “two-state solution” – a term more identified with territorial clashes in the Middle East – to Newsom’s own clash with Republicans, which is the governor’s reply to Texas’ redistricting efforts.

“The people of inland California have been overlooked for too long. It’s time for a two-state solution,” Gallagher said.

Gallagher’s resolution responds to Sacramento’s attempt to permanently redraw California’s congressional maps – an act he says would silence rural voices and rig the political system forever.

DEMS WANTED TO DRAW EVERY REPUBLICAN OUT OF MARYLAND BUT NOW LAMBAST TEXAS REDISTRICTING

While the political power of California’s overall current landmass would be diminished, the new “Inland” California would be one of the largest states by population in the nation, and reliably right-leaning.

Following a series of county lines generally slightly west of Interstate 5 – which runs the 800-mile height of the state – the new coastal state would retain many notably left-wing communities like San Francisco, Oakland, Los Angeles, Silicon Valley and Sonoma.

It would also include the relatively center-right Orange County, as well as San Diego County, where the state’s Senate Republican Leader Brian Jones hails from.

Jones said earlier this month that Newsom wasn’t elected “to play gerrymandering games to boost his presidential campaign, [but] to solve problems here at home.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Jones, Newsom and Gallagher, for comment.

Gallagher’s home county – Sutter, located north of Sacramento – would fall in the new conservative inland state.

It would also include right-leaning Truckee – where Interstate 80 crosses the Sierras – along with Kern County, where former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., hails from.

San Bernardino, Riverside and Imperial counties – which today make up what is similarly called the “Inland Empire” – would also fall in the new state. 

The 17 coastal counties would together create a state of 29.5 million people while the inland state would be home to 10 million, according to the Manteca Bulletin.

MEXICAN IMMIGRANT-TURNED-CONGRESSWOMAN BLASTS DEM CLAIMS TEXAS REDISTRICTING HURTS LATINO VOTE

Texas would become the nation’s most populous state, edging out Coastal California by about 1.5 million, while Inland California would become the 11th most populous state – fitting in between Michigan and New Jersey.

Gallagher has lambasted what he calls Newsom’s “mid-decade power grab” as a “mockery of democracy.”

“Don’t p— on my boots and tell me it’s raining. These are rigged maps, drawn in secret to give Democrat politicians more power by dismantling the independent commission Californians created to keep them out of map-drawing,” he said in a statement earlier this month. His comments came after Newsom approved the Democrats’ plan to place a resolution on the November ballot allowing the state to circumvent its semi-independent redistricting board.

“Californians should choose their representatives, not the other way around,” he said.

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State Sen. Roger Niello, R-Fair Oaks, is the top Republican on the elections committee.

Niello said earlier this month that Democrats only recently found interest in redrawing the congressional maps – sharing several examples of liberal lawmakers verbally opposing redistricting as recently as July.

“In just a few weeks, a mysterious case of collective and selective amnesia seems to have set in. Let’s rewind the tape and hear them in their own words,” Niello said.

Gallagher is expected to hold a press conference at 10 a.m. PT in Sacramento to further discuss his plan.

President Donald Trump and his allies in Congress are working to solidify his grip on Washington, D.C.

A leadership aide told Fox News Digital on Tuesday that House Republicans are working with the White House on a package of bills “to fix the many problems with D.C. governance and crime.”

Trump all but confirmed the effort in a late-night Truth Social post at midnight on Wednesday stating that House and Senate leaders “are working with me, and other Republicans, on a Comprehensive Crime Bill.”

“It’s what our country needs, and NOW! More to follow,” Trump posted.

GOP LAWMAKERS CLASH OVER STRATEGY TO AVERT GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN CRISIS

Meanwhile, House GOP Trump allies have been working on various measures to extend the president’s grip on D.C.’s police, which another source told Fox News Digital the White House was keeping track of.

Under The District of Columbia Home Rule Act of 1973, which, among other measures, established a local government for the nation’s capital, the president is allowed to federalize D.C.’s police force for a period of 48 hours, though it can extend to 30 days with notification to the relevant congressional committees.

Any longer period must be authorized via a resolution passed in the House and Senate – several of which have already been offered while lawmakers are back on their home turfs for the annual August recess.

The act does not limit how long Trump can deploy federal forces into the capital for, however – which he has also done.

Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., was first to announce he was working on a bill “to amend the D.C. Home Rule Act, so the president can extend this emergency as long as it takes, until our Capitol is taken back, and its streets are safe” on Aug. 13.

He told Fox News Digital on Tuesday that House GOP leadership seemed positive about his bill.

“I sent it to [House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La.] after we drafted it,” Ogles said. “He liked the proposal, so when we get back, we’ll sort through the various ideas and approaches and see which one is best. Obviously, I’ll advocate for mine, but…whatever keeps the people safe.”

Ogles pointed out that his bill, while getting rid of the 30-day limit, also requires the White House to notify Congress every 30 days about the basis for continuing federalization of D.C.’s police because “we still have a Constitution that we need to abide by.”

Scalise’s office did not address Ogles’ bill when reached by Fox News Digital.

Others, like Reps. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., and Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., have introduced similar bills.

“I think that there’s plenty of support for my bill, or a version of it,” Luna told Fox News Digital. “The fact is, is that, you know, we do have home rule. It’s well within our right and authority. And frankly, we’re doing it not just for us, but also for the actual civilians in the Washington, D.C., area.”

Luna’s bill, like Ogles’, would extend Trump’s ability to federalize D.C. police for as long a period as the president deems necessary.

GOP GOVERNOR NOMINEE PUSHES REDISTRICTING TO OUST STATE’S LONE HOUSE DEM

Biggs’ bill would extend Trump’s hold on D.C. police for a period of six months.

Because D.C. is a federal district, and not a state, Congress and the federal government are able to exercise significant amounts of control over various aspects of how it’s run.

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The White House and Trump allies have touted a significant decrease in homicides in D.C. since Trump took over policing in the city, while signaling that other U.S. cities could soon see federal government intervention to deal with crime as well.

Opponents of the move, largely Democrats, have accused the Trump administration of ripping autonomy away from those who live in the nation’s capital.

A White House official told Fox News Digital when asked for more information, “Efforts to address some of the underlying causes of the DC crime problem will be a topic of sustained focus for the administration, as well as other issues, such as maintenance, transportation and beautification.”

“That includes working with all levels of government, executive branch, legislative branch, and Washington, DC, to ensure that the capital city of the greatest nation on earth is the envy of the world,” the official said.

Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, the co-founder of the Sinaloa Cartel, is set to face the rest of his life behind bars as the Trump administration ramps up its efforts to dismantle cartels. 

Zambada, 75, confessed in a Brooklyn courtroom Monday that he had coordinated with Mexican officials to smuggle drugs into the U.S. for decades — and ultimately pleaded guilty to serving as principal leader of a continuing criminal enterprise and racketeering conspiracy. 

The Trump administration has pledged to take down the cartels — and experts predict Zambada’s guilty plea paves the way for the Justice Department to launch more indictments against high-profile cartel members moving forward and exerts additional pressure on Mexico to comply with U.S. requests. 

SINALOA CARTEL CO-FOUNDER ‘WILL DIE IN A US FEDERAL PRISON WHERE HE BELONGS’ AFTER GUILTY PLEA, SAYS AG BONDI

“It gives Trump powerful political leverage,” Brian Townsend, a retired supervisory special agent with the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), told Fox News Digital Monday. “I expect him to use this moment to rally public support for more aggressive cross‑border operations and tougher measures against Mexico.” 

“Zambada admitted in court that for decades he paid off Mexican generals, governors, and politicians,” Townsend said. “These are words directly from the mouth of one of the world’s biggest drug traffickers. It confirms what we have been seeing for decades: Mexico’s institutions have been deeply compromised.” 

Zambada’s plea deal requires the cartel boss to forfeit $15 billion. Meanwhile, Zambada’s attorney, Frank Perez, said in a Monday statement that the cartel boss will not comply with U.S. government officials, signaling he’d be unwilling to disclose any information on the cartel system to the U.S. 

“The agreement that he reached with the U.S. authorities is a matter of public record,” Perez said in a statement, according to ABC News. “It is not a cooperation agreement, and I can state categorically that there is no deal under which he is cooperating with the United States Government or any other government.”

Perez could not be reached for comment by Fox News Digital. 

The Trump administration has moved to crack down on cartels, and designated groups like the Sinaloa, Tren de Aragua and others as foreign terrorist organizations in February. Doing so blocks the groups from using the U.S. financial system, aiming to hamper their ability to carry out operations. 

MEXICO TO EXTRADITE 26 TOP CARTEL LEADERS TO US IN TRUMP ADMINISTRATION DEAL

Additionally, the Trump administration navigated a deal with Mexico to send 26 high-ranking cartel figures to the U.S. in August — including some with ties to Sinaloa. 

Townsend predicted more indictments from the Justice Department would follow. 

“I think we’re going to push for broader cooperation from Mexico, more indictments,” Townsend said. “We’ve shown that we need to extradite these folks into the United States for prosecution. We have the resources, the criminal investigations. So I would expect to see broader DOJ indictments, in a renewed look at the overall leadership of Sinaloa and other cartels, for that matter, and how we can bring more indictments and more charges against those key players.”

Meanwhile, other actions the Trump administration could take could involve the U.S. military. Trump signed off on an order to direct military operations targeting cartels on foreign ground, The New York Times reported in August.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said that while Mexico would “collaborate” with the U.S., an “invasion” was out of the question. 

DOJ CHARGES FIVE ALLEGED MEXICAN CARTEL LEADERS, TOUTS ‘EXTRAORDINARY POLICEWORK’ THAT LED TO INDICTMENTS

Nathan Jones, a nonresident scholar in drug policy and Mexico studies at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, said that Zambada’s guilty plea does place additional pressure on Mexico to comply with U.S. requests, although U.S. troops in Mexico would be perceived as a violation of Mexican sovereignty. 

“For Mexico, you’ve got a very sensitive issue, and American boots on the ground without permission is highly problematic,” Jones told Fox News Digital Tuesday. “But there are ways that the Mexican government can without violating their own sovereignty. Work with the United States, U.S. law enforcement can be there.”

Zambada’s sentencing is scheduled for January, where he faces a mandatory minimum term of life in prison for leading a continuing criminal enterprise, and a maximum sentence of life in prison for the racketeering charge, according to the Justice Department. 

“This foreign terrorist committed horrific crimes against the American people — he will now pay for those crimes by spending the rest of his life behind bars in an American prison,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement Monday. “Today marks a crucial victory in President Trump’s ongoing fight to completely eliminate foreign terrorist organizations and protect American citizens from deadly drugs and violence.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

An upcoming iPhone update is raising alarms among Republican fundraisers who say a new text filtration system set to hit the market in September will disproportionately block conservative fundraising and voter outreach efforts, echoing past Big Tech controversies that put a target on the backs of GOP voters. 

“It’s no surprise that Big Tech wants to stop Donald Trump and other Republicans from communicating with people, because they’ve tried every other method to interfere already,” Sean Dollman, founding partner of American Made Media Company, the parent company of Launchpad Strategies, which was the exclusive digital firm for Trump 2024, told Fox News Digital. 

“Big Tech has suppressed him, suspended him, and banned him outright. And now they’re trying to make it so he can’t text anybody either. But MAGA won’t be stopped, and MAGA will always find a way.”

Apple is expected to roll out its latest update, iOS 26, in September, which will include an updated text filtration system that siphons text messages from unknown numbers that have no chat history with the recipient to a separate message folder that will not generate an alert to the recipient, leaders from American Made Media Company and Launchpad explained to Fox News Digital of the upcoming update. Text messages from known numbers saved on an individual’s phone are expected to continue alerting recipients and sending the messages to their typical text app. 

GOOGLE’S GMAIL CENSORSHIP COST GOP CANDIDATES $2B SINCE 2019, REPUBLICANS SAY, CITING NEW STUDY

Launchpad Strategies served as the Trump 2024 campaign’s exclusive digital firm handling online advertising and consulting during Trump’s decisive victory over former Vice President Kamala Harris, and continues operating as a “full-service Republican digital agency dedicated to helping campaigns win,” according to its website. 

Launchpad raised $509 million for the Trump campaign in 2024 and an additional $18 million in funds from 40 other clients during the massive 2024 election year, Fox Digital learned. 

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The update could affect election cycles themselves, as text messages concerning voter registration and campaign rallies are expected to also be punted to this new folder, according to fundraisers. 

Data from the 2024 election cycle showed Republicans leveraged text campaigns two-to-one compared to Democrats, putting them directly in the line of fire when the expected update takes effect in September — ahead of the midterms hitting a fever pitch as Democrats look to flip the House and Senate from Republican control.

The text filtration’s scope is expected to extend far beyond just politics, including potentially siphoning texts concerning real-life issues such as doctor appointments from a number not saved in a person’s phone. 

The National Republican Senate Committee, which serves as the Senate Republican’s campaigning arm, circulated an internal memo in July sounding the alarm that the iOS update could cost Republicans more than $25 million in revenue, Punchbowl News reported at the time. 

Apple filtering texts from unknown numbers is not new, with such a program already used within the current iOS 18 systems. The current filtration system is by default not activated until a user toggles a button within the “settings” app. 

The iOS 26 update is also currently available to the public for beta testing, the outlet Fast Company reported in July. 

Under the new update, the filtration system will be renamed to “Screen Unknown Senders,” but will use ongoing criteria to kick text messages to another folder, specifically: if the iPhone owner does not have a contact saved in their phone and if the user has never interacted with the unknown phone number trying to contact them, according to Fast Company. 

The visibility of the texts from unknown senders will get a facelift under the new update, with the filtered messages from unknown senders made more easily seen by users with a new filtration button at the top of Apple’s Messages app that will display a blue badge noting how many unread texts an iPhone user has received from unknown numbers, according to the Fast Company report, which sought to quell Republican fundraising concerns over the update. 

Fox News Digital reached out to Apple for comment on Monday. 

History repeating itself is of top concern to Republican fundraisers, who pointed to a seemingly similar filtration system with Gmail messages that first hit the public’s radar in 2022. Studies at the time found Gmail allowed the vast majority of emails from left-wing politicians to land in a user’s inbox, while more than two-thirds of messages from conservative candidates were marked as spam, according to data from North Carolina State University’s Department of Computer Science that was previously reported by Fox News Digital. 

The Gmail filtration system resulted in a $2 billion loss for Republican candidates between 2019 and 2022, Fox News Digital reported in April 2022 citing research from the Republican National Committee, National Republican Congressional Committee, National Republican Senate Committee.

“Big Tech has been silencing conservative voices and actively working against Republicans for multiple cycles. Google’s e-mail suppression – which affects the GOP’s fundraising and GOTV efforts – is another egregious example. Silicon Valley oligarchs are suppressing free political speech,” then-RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, then-NRSC Chairman Senator Rick Scott and then-NRCC Chairman Congressman Tom Emmer said in a joint statement back in 2022, Fox News Digital reported at the time. 

GOOGLE’S GMAIL FAVORS LEFT-WING CANDIDATES, SENDS FAR MORE EMAILS FROM CONSERVATIVES TO SPAM: STUDY

The research found that between 2019 and 2020, conservative candidates raised $737 million on Republican fundraising platform WinRed from Gmail. The data found that just 32% of fundraising emails actually reached recipients, with Republicans estimating they missed out on $1.5 billion in contributions during the 2020 election cycle alone. 

The update comes as the Democrat Party is in turmoil following the 2024 race, which saw former President Biden drop out of the election cycle with just over 100 days to go before passing the proverbial mantle to Vice President Kamala Harris before the loss to Trump. The party has since attempted to find its political footing after an exodus of the working-class vote to the GOP in 2024 and voters rejecting left-wing policies, most notably surrounding social issues. 

Republican fundraisers are already working on workarounds for the expected update, including having recipients add fundraising numbers to their phones. 

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Screenshots of fundraising text messages reviewed by Fox News Digital in 2025 show texts touting Trump’s name, accompanied by messages that ask recipients to add the number to their contacts or respond to the text to build a chat history. 

The texts include messages such as, “From Trump: Did you save my number yet?” or “Download the Trump Contact Card to add me to your address book” or other interactive texts such as, “Trump: If you had 5 minutes with me, what would you say? No links. I just want your reply below.” 

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is suing Texas over its redistricting plan that would eliminate five Democratic congressional seats.

The NAACP filed the lawsuit on Tuesday, arguing the new congressional map “was enacted with an impermissible and controlling discriminatory purpose on the basis of race.” It names Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson as plaintiffs.

“It’s quite obvious that Texas’s effort to redistrict mid-decade, before next year’s midterm elections, is racially motivated. The state’s intent here is to reduce the members of Congress who represent Black communities, and that, in and of itself, is unconstitutional,” NAACP president and CEO Derrick Johnson said in a statement Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the NAACP said it is also encouraging blue states to enact their own redistricting plans in an effort to offset the effects of the new Texas map.

NEWSOM SIGNS CALIFORNIA CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING BILLS, COUNTERING TRUMP-BACKED PUSH IN TEXAS

“At this time, the NAACP is urging California, New York, and all other states to act immediately by redistricting and passing new, lawful, and constitutional electoral maps,” the group wrote Tuesday. “We must counter Texas’ unconstitutional move and ensure that if all else fails, Black Americans still have a voice in Congress.”

Texas passed its new map on Saturday, pulling off the political victory despite weeks of Democrats breaking quorum, which included fleeing the state to avoid a redistricting vote.

ABBOTT SCORES BIG WIN IN REDISTRICTING BATTLE AS TEXAS DEMOCRATS’ BLOCKADE COLLAPSES

The Republican-controlled state Senate passed the redistricting map on Friday, just two days after clearing the GOP-held House by an 88-52 vote.

The move has kicked off a redistricting battle nationwide, however. California Gov. Gavin Newsom and state Democrats passed their own new map on Thursday, which creates five new districts that lean Democratic, jeopardizing the seats of Republicans.

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That map will first face a Nov. 4 statewide vote before being adopted, however. That special election is expected to cost taxpayers some $230 million.

Newsom’s office has responded to criticism around the cost by arguing, “There’s no price tag for democracy.”

Fox News’ Deirdre Heavey contributed to this report.

Republican candidates for statewide office in Virginia are siding with parents who are upset over school transgender bathroom polices, while their Democratic rivals stay largely silent.

Fox News Digital reached out to the 2025 candidates for Virginia governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general to ask about their views on transgender students’ access to bathrooms. 

Candidates in the Democratic Party either failed to respond to Fox News Digital’s repeated inquiries about the matter, or avoided speaking directly about it, despite the issue garnering national headlines this month.

“Biological differences matter,” GOP Virginia gubernatorial candidate Winsome Earle-Sears told Fox News Digital when reached for comment about the controversial issue. “It is not political. It’s common sense, and somebody has to stand up and speak for parents.”

VIRGINIA LEADERS REBUKE RACIST SIGN TARGETING GOP GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE WINSOME EARLE-SEARS: ‘REPULSIVE’

The inquiries came after five Virginia school districts were designated “high-risk” by the Department of Education earlier this month over their decision to continue letting students use facilities based on their gender identity. They also followed this month’s suspension of two high school-aged males who were accused of sexual harassment after they complained about a transgender-identifying biological female using their locker room.

“As a mom of three daughters in Virginia public schools, a former federal law enforcement officer, and a candidate for governor, Abigail’s priority is ensuring that all of Virginia’s kids are safe and supported,” said a representative for former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, who is running for governor against Earle-Sears, when reached for comment about the issue.

 VIRGINIA LT. GOVERNOR ON WHY HER STATE IS AT RISK OF LOSING FEDERAL FUNDING OVER TRANSGENDER BATHROOMS

“While Abigail’s opponent, Winsome Earle-Sears, stokes division and backs the Trump administration’s threats to strip funding from Virginia schools, as Virginia’s next governor, Abigail will work to protect public school funding, address the Commonwealth’s chronic teacher shortage, and contend with our last-in-the-nation math recovery ranking,” the spokesperson continued. 

Spanberger’s spokesperson also slammed Earle-Sears’ “decades-long record of trying to defund Virginia’s public schools” and argued that she has “offered no plan to increase student achievement.”

“Abigail will continue to focus on preparing students for success and bringing Virginia parents to the table,” the spokesperson concluded in their response. “What’s [the] deadline to get you something on the Trump admin threatening to pull funding from those five Northern Virginia school divisions?”

The other Democrats running for the state’s top office, state Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, who is running to be lieutenant governor, and Jay Jones, an attorney running to replace Jason Miyares as Virginia’s attorney general, did not respond to Fox News Digital’s repeated requests for comment on the topic. 

In 2021, Democratic candidate for governor Terry McAuliffe said during a debate that parents should not be telling schools what to teach their children, a statement that many claimed was a contributing factor to his loss to GOP Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin.

“It should be noted that this is a common sense issue. This is an 80/20 issue. At least 80% of people think that this is just a matter of common sense,” said Josh Hetzler, the attorney representing the families of the two Virginia boys who were disciplined for complaining about a biological female using their locker room. “For time immemorial, we’ve had boys and boys locker rooms and girls and girls locker rooms.”

Meanwhile, Earle-Sears’ running mate, GOP candidate for lieutenant governor John Reid, was also quick to respond to the issue.

“Students shouldn’t be punished for speaking up about fairness and safety in their own locker room,” Reid responded when asked about the boy’s suspension. “This is what happens when unchecked ideology overrides common sense—kids get silenced instead of protected.”

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Additionally, incumbent GOP Attorney General Jason Miyares called out the Virginia school district which disciplined the two boys, for “weaponizing Title IX to punish male students expressing discomfort at being forced to share a locker room with a female student.”

His opponent, attorney Jay Jones, did not respond to repeated requests for comment on the matter. 

As a result of the Department of Education’s designation of five Northern Virginia school districts as “high risk,” their funding will now be subject to “reimbursement status,” meaning the districts will now have to pay all expenses “up front” and then subsequently request reimbursements from the federal government. 

“States and school districts cannot openly violate federal law while simultaneously receiving federal funding with no additional scrutiny,” said Education Secretary Linda McMahon.

MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin is expected to reiterate his push for party unity as the DNC’s annual summer meeting comes to a close on Wednesday.

“We can expect Chair Martin to underscore the importance of moving forward as a united party laser-focused on winning,” a source with knowledge told Fox News.

Martin, pushing back amid talk that the party remains divided over a slew of policy and political issues, highlighted party unity as Democrats counter a slew of sweeping and controversial moves by President Donald Trump since he returned to the White House seven months ago.

“In this big tent party of ours, we are unified towards one single goal, to stop Donald Trump and put this country back on track,” Martin said on Monday as the confab kicked off.

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Martin, in his closing address, is expected to focus on the momentum Democrats have heading into elections this fall, and will spotlight how Democrats have “overperformed or won in 36 out of 37 key elections” during his seven months as chair, according to the source.

But party leaders and officials, meeting in Martin’s home state of Minnesota, are facing a multitude of problems as they try to escape the political wilderness.

Democrats are aiming to rebound after last year’s elections, when the party lost control of the White House and the Senate and fell short in their bid to win back the House majority. And Republicans made gains with voters who make up key parts of the Democratic Party’s base.

But the situation has only deteriorated for the Democrats in the 10 months since last year’s election setbacks, according to key metrics.

The Democrats’ brand is deeply unpopular, especially with younger voters, as the party’s poll numbers continue to drop to all-time lows in national surveys. 

And the DNC faces a massive fundraising deficit at the hands of the rival Republican National Committee (RNC), as well as concerns over lagging party registration.

DEMOCRATS DIVIDED: TENSIONS FLARE OVER WAR IN GAZA 

As Democrats hunger for more forceful pushback against Trump’s agenda, Martin targeted the president, arguing Trump’s acting as “a dictator-in-chief” and that his second administration is “fascism dressed in a red tie.”

Martin, pointing to the forceful response by Democrats to moves this summer by Trump and Republicans to create more right-leaning U.S. House seats in states across the country through rare mid-decade congressional redistricting ahead of next year’s midterm elections, said that he’s “sick and tired of this Democratic Party bringing a pencil to a knife fight.”

“We cannot be the only party that plays by the rules anymore,” he urged.

While Martin and other DNC officials preached unity, divisions flared on Tuesday as a key DNC panel considered two dueling resolutions on the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

The tension came as the DNC’s Resolutions Committee voted down a symbolic resolution calling for an arms embargo and suspension of U.S. military aid to Israel, which has long been the top American ally in the Middle East.

A separate resolution introduced and supported by DNC chair Ken Martin that called for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, as well as unrestricted access to humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza, was unanimously passed by the panel.

But the defeat of the second, more forceful resolution, which was introduced by 26-year-old Allison Minnerly, a new DNC member from Florida, sparked opposition among some members on the panel. 

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“It’s not enough,” DNC committee member from Washington D.C. Sophia Danenberg said, as she pointed to Martin’s resolution. “People want to hear a louder, stronger, statement.”

Danenberg emphasized, “I do fear that we’re losing our future as the Democratic Party by not being courageous on this issue.”

Minutes later, following a private conversation between Martin and Minnerly, the DNC chair asked the committee to “withdraw my resolution so we can move united today and have the conversation.”

“We need to keep working through this. We have to find a path forward as a party, and we have to stay unified,” the chair added.

Martin’s move was embraced by the committee.

The showdown over the resolutions came as the Democratic Party’s once nearly unshakable support for Israel has fractured amid the bloodshed. And concerns over the growing death toll among Palestinians by many in the party’s progressive base have soared this spring and summer, amid what many describe as a famine in Gaza. Recent polling indicates support for Israel’s continued military actions in Gaza is plummeting among Democrats.

The Resolutions Committee passed a slew of resolutions, including unanimously approving one that affirmed what was called the “‘American Values’ of diversity, equity, and inclusion.” The party’s support for DEI came amid relentless conservative backlash against such programs in recent years.

Another resolution unanimously passed called for “condemning the first 6 months of the Second Trump Administration.”

The resolutions approved by the panel will face votes by the full 400-plus DNC membership on Wednesday, during the closing general session.

Later on Tuesday, Martin declared that “the presidential calendar process starts today.”

Speaking at a meeting of the DNC’s Rules and Bylaws Committee, which oversees the party’s presidential nominating calendar, the chairman announced that “we’re planning for meetings throughout the fall and winter and through the spring to make sure we have a rigorous, effective, fair calendar and process.

“We need this process to give us the strongest possible candidate, a candidate that’s battle-tested to win and ready to lead America forward,” Martin emphasized.

And DNC officials said they’ll hammer out rules in the coming months for states to make their cases on why they should be in the first group of states to hold presidential primaries in the 2028 cycle, when Democrats hope to win back the White House.

The meetings will kick off a fight between a handful of states battling for the lead-off positions in the next primary calendar, after the DNC, following the wishes of then-President Joe Biden, upended decades of tradition and bounced Iowa and New Hampshire from their lead-off roles in the party’s nominating schedule in the 2024 election cycle.

South Carolina, which Biden chose to lead off the 2024 calendar, New Hampshire, Nevada, and Iowa will likely all bid to hold the kick-off contest in the next presidential election cycle.

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Martin also pushed to make sure DNC officers and staff stay neutral in what will likely be a “very crowded Democratic primary process.”

“We have an obligation to Democrats not in this room,” Martin said as he pushed for committee neutrality.