NationalWatch

President Donald Trump escalated his battle for American culture with the Smithsonian Institution on Tuesday, ordering a broad review of the nation’s leading museums after blasting them on Truth Social as “the last remaining segment of WOKE.”  The move was also formalized in a White House letter released in a letter Aug. 12 to Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch.

Trump’s post accused the Smithsonian as well as other museums nationwide of pushing narratives that disparage the U.S. rather than celebrate its achievements. 

“The Museums throughout Washington, but all over the Country are, essentially, the last remaining segment of ‘WOKE,’” Trump wrote. “The Smithsonian is OUT OF CONTROL … Nothing about Success, nothing about Brightness, nothing about the Future.”

He added: “This Country cannot be WOKE, because WOKE IS BROKE. We have the ‘HOTTEST’ Country in the World, and we want people to talk about it, including in our Museums.”

AMERICAN HISTORY WON’T BE DISPLAYED ‘IN A WOKE MANNER’ AT SMITHSONIAN, TRUMP SAYS

The letter instructs Smithsonian leaders to provide exhibition plans, internal guidelines, and America 250 programming materials for review. 

“As we prepare to celebrate the 250th anniversary of our Nation’s founding, it is more important than ever that our national museums reflect the unity, progress, and enduring values that define the American story,” the letter stated. “This initiative aims to ensure alignment with the President’s directive to celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives, and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions.”

According to administration officials, the review will focus on public-facing content, curatorial processes, exhibition planning, collection use, and overall narrative standards. 

The initial phase will target the National Museum of American History, the National Museum of Natural History, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the National Museum of the American Indian, the National Air and Space Museum, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden.

TRUMP WHITE HOUSE CALLS OUT SMITHSONIAN FOR PUSHING ‘ONE-SIDED, DIVISIVE POLITICAL NARRATIVES’

Tuesday’s announcement follows earlier White House criticism of specific Smithsonian exhibitions. On July 5, Fox News Digital reported that officials had singled out the Entertainment Nation exhibit at the National Museum of American History for review. 

At the time, White House special assistant Lindsey Halligan said to Fox News Digital, “American taxpayers should not be funding institutions that undermine our country or promote one-sided, divisive political narratives. The Smithsonian Institution should present history in a way that is accurate, balanced, and consistent with the values that make the United States of America exceptional.”

Among the panels singled out by the White House was a 1920s circus poster described as reflecting “the colonial impulse to claim dominion over the world.” Another display reinterpreted the Lone Ranger, comparing the character’s relationship with Tonto to U.S. global dominance. A third panel suggested that Mickey Mouse’s original design in Steamboat Willie drew on traditions of blackface minstrelsy.

WHITE HOUSE REVIEWING ALL SMITHSONIAN MUSEUM, EXHIBIT CONTENT BEFORE AMERICA 250 CELEBRATION IN 2026

Despite the sharp rhetoric, the letter said the White House sees the review as a constructive process. 

“Our goal is not to interfere with the day-to-day operations of curators or staff, but rather to support a broader vision of excellence that highlights historically accurate, uplifting, and inclusive portrayals of America’s heritage,” officials wrote.

The timeline requires museums to submit requested materials within 30 days, schedule staff interviews within 75 days, and begin implementing content corrections within 120 days. The corrections, the letter said, should replace “divisive or ideologically driven language with unifying, historically accurate and constructive descriptions.”

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White House officials closed the letter by presenting the initiative as a collaborative effort with Smithsonian staff. “We view this process as a collaborative and forward-looking opportunity, one that empowers museum staff to embrace a revitalized curatorial vision rooted in the strength, breadth, and achievements of the American story,” the letter stated. 

“By focusing on Americanism — the people, principles, and progress that define our nation — we can work together to renew the Smithsonian’s role as the world’s leading museum institution.”

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

Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett knows how to command an audience. 

This was crystallized Monday night at the Swissotel in Chicago, where she spoke for just three minutes to several hundred judges and legal professionals gathered for the Seventh Circuit Judicial Conference.

Her remarks, though short, were optimistic and warm. She urged the courts to keep their sense of “camaraderie and professionalism” despite inevitable, sharp disagreements. This, she said, is “what enables the judicial system to work well.” 

Barrett smiled fondly as she remembered her time on the 7th Circuit, where she served for several years prior to her nomination to the Supreme Court. She introduced the next speaker, who took the stage to another standing ovation.

And just as quickly as she entered the packed ballroom, she was gone.

BARRETT EVISCERATES JACKSON, SOTOMAYOR TAKES ON A ‘COMPLICIT’ COURT IN CONTENTIOUS FINAL OPINIONS

As the youngest justice on the bench, Barrett’s ideology over her nearly five-term tenure on the Supreme Court has been the subject of furious speculation, and at times, just plain fury. 

Conservatives have panned her record as more moderate than that of the late Justice Antonin Scalia, for whom she once clerked. Liberals have been incensed by her reluctance to side more consistently with the court’s left-leaning justices on abortion, federal powers and other seminal cases.

Barrett’s voting record is more moderate than Scalia’s, according to a June New York Times data analysis that found she plays an “increasingly central role” on the court.

Barrett used her time on Monday to implore the group of judges to maintain a sense of grace, decorum, and respect for colleagues, despite the inevitable, heated disagreements that will occur.

The warm, if somewhat lofty, sense of idealism on display is one that is expected to be echoed further in her forthcoming memoir, “Listening to the Law: Reflections on the Court and Constitution,” slated for publication next month. 

The theme of Monday’s remarks, to the extent there was one, stressed working toward common goals, accepting ideological differences and embracing disagreement while keeping a broader perspective — a point echoed by Barrett and earlier speakers, who cited David Brooks repeatedly in praising purpose-driven public service.

The upside of so many hours spent in disagreement, Barrett said, is learning how to strike that balance.

“We know how to argue well,” she said. “We also know how to argue without letting it consume relationships.”

CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS SOUNDS ALARM ON DANGEROUS RHETORIC AIMED AT JUDGES FROM POLITICIANS

This has been especially true during Trump’s second term, as the Supreme Court presided over a record blitz of emergency appeals and orders filed by the administration and other aggrieved parties in response to the hundreds of executive orders signed in his first months in office.

The high court has ruled in Trump’s favor in the majority of emergency applications, allowing the administration to proceed with its ban on transgender service members in the military, its termination of millions of dollars in Education Department grants and its firing of probationary employees across the federal government, among many other actions.

Even so, it is Barrett who has emerged as the most-talked-about justice on the high court this term, confounding and frustrating observers as they tried and failed to predict how she would vote.

She’s been hailed as the “most interesting justice on the bench,” a “trailblazer,” and an iconoclast, among other things. 

But on Monday, she stressed that the commonalities among judges, both for the 7th Circuit and beyond, are far greater than what issues divide them. 

As for her own work, Barrett offered few details — her remarks began and ended in less time than it takes to microwave a burrito.

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It’s unclear if, or to what extent, Barrett’s schedule may have changed at the eleventh hour — a reflection of the many demands placed on sitting Supreme Court justices, whose schedules are often subject to change or cancellation at a moment’s notice.

The 7th Circuit did not immediately respond to Fox News’s questions as to what, if anything, had changed on Barrett’s end. 

Questions swirled as she exited. Had she planned longer remarks? Was the agenda misread? Or is she saving details for her memoir and looming book tour, as one reporter suggested?

Her appearance, full of irony, left observers with more questions than answers. Whether she addresses them in the weeks ahead remains to be seen.

Just more than one week after President Donald Trump unveiled plans to deploy troops from the D.C. National Guard and to federalize the Metropolitan Police Department to tackle crime in Washington, six states have pledged to send in their own National Guard troops to pitch in with the effort. 

Now, National Guard troops from Ohio, West Virginia, South Carolina, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee are joining in on the Trump administration’s crackdown in Washington. Altogether, more than 2,000 National Guard troops are currently slated to participate in the Trump administration’s effort to address crime in the nation’s capital, and roughly 1,300 already have arrived in Washington. 

As of Tuesday, approximately 500 West Virginia National Guard soldiers are in Washington where they are being briefed on their mission, a U.S. Army official told Fox News. Once training concludes, they are slated to join the D.C. National Guard in “supporting the mission as it currently exists,” the official said. 

400 NATIONAL GUARD MEMBERS DESCEND UPON DC; EXPANDED CRIME CRACKDOWN EXPECTED WEDNESDAY NIGHT

On Monday, governors from Mississippi, Tennessee and Louisiana announced they would also dispatch National Guard troops from their respective states. Mississippi pledged 200 troops, Tennessee said it would send 160 troops, and Louisiana said it would deploy 135 troops. 

Additionally, South Carolina said it would dispatch 200 troops, and Ohio said it plans to deploy 150 to support Trump’s mission. 

The states said that they were responding to requests from the Department of the Army to assist the D.C. National Guard. 

“We have been asked by the Secretary of the Army to send 150 military police from the Ohio National Guard to support the District of Columbia National Guard,” Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, said in a Saturday statement. “These Ohio National Guard members will carry out presence patrols and serve as added security. None of these military police members are currently serving as law enforcement officers in the state of Ohio.”

DEFENSE SECRETARY PETE HEGSETH VOWS TO BE ‘FORCE MULTIPLIERS’ OF DC POLICE

The White House said that the National Guard troops will protect federal assets and provide a “safe environment” for law enforcement officials, and will “provide a visible presence to deter crime.” 

“President Trump appreciates and welcomes additional assistance from local and state officials that want to join the operation to protect our cherished capital from dangerous criminals,” a White House official said in a statement to Fox News Digital Tuesday. “As part of President Trump’s ongoing effort to make DC safe and beautiful, additional National Guard troops may be called in to Washington DC — the National Guard’s role has not changed.” 

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital on why National Guard troops from other states are joining the D.C. National Guard. 

Trump initially floated federalizing Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department and sending National Guard troops to confront crime in Washington Aug. 6, following the assault of a former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staffer. 

Days later, he announced that he would activate approximately 800 National Guard troops, and would take over the Metropolitan Police Department to address crime in Washington.

“I’m deploying the National Guard to help reestablish law, order and public safety in Washington, D.C.,” Trump told reporters at an Aug. 11 press conference. “And they’re going to be allowed to do their job properly.”

While a temporary federal takeover of the Metropolitan Police Department is authorized for emergency situations, Washington officials filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s move Friday. 

TRUMP ACTIVATES NATIONAL GUARD TROOPS TO ADDRESS ‘TOTALLY OUT OF CONTROL’ CRIME IN WASHINGTON

“By illegally declaring a takeover of MPD, the Administration is abusing its temporary, limited authority under the law,” Washington Attorney General Brian Schwalb wrote in a Friday X post. “This is the gravest threat to Home Rule DC has ever faced, and we are fighting to stop it.”

Meanwhile, Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser suggested that the Trump administration wasn’t interested in deploying troops to fight crime in the city, but rather, advance the Trump administration’s mass deportation agenda. 

“I think it makes the point that this is not about D.C. crime,” Bowser said Sunday. “The focus should be on violent crime. … Nobody is against focusing on driving down any level of violence. And so if this is really about immigration enforcement, the administration should make that plain.”

Fox News’ Liz Friden and the Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz., is considering jumping into the race for Arizona’s next governor, Fox News can independently confirm.

Rep. Andy Biggs and businesswoman Karrin Taylor Robson are already in the race, and whoever wins the Republican primary will presumably face off against Gov. Katie Hobbs, a Democrat elected in 2022 in a competitive race against Republican Kari Lake.

“Congressman Schweikert has been approached by several prominent Arizona conservatives and Republicans who want to defeat Democrat Katie Hobbs and are concerned that the current field of candidates does not have a candidate who can beat her. The Congressman agrees with that analysis and is considering a run for Governor. He will make a decision by the end of the month,” Chris Baker, a spokesperson for Schweikert, said in a statement.

Robson previously sought the Republican nomination in 2022. 

TRUMP’S ENDORSEMENT BOOSTS SENATE CANDIDATE WHO ALMOST FLIPPED A KEY SWING SEAT

“Karrin is proud to have President Trump’s endorsement. She has held more than 100 events this summer and earned support from over 8,000 donors in just the first six months of her campaign. She is the candidate Democrats fear most, the clear frontrunner in this race, and she welcomes anyone who wants to run for the GOP nomination—for second place,” the Robson campaign said in a statement.

Both Biggs and Robson have been endorsed by President Donald Trump.

“I like Karrin Taylor Robson of Arizona a lot, and when she asked me to Endorse her, with nobody else running, I Endorsed her, and was happy to do so,” Trump posted to Truth Social in April.

HOCHUL FAILS TO CRACK 50% BUT TOPS POTENTIAL GOP CHALLENGES BY DOUBLE DIGITS IN NY GOVERNOR RACE: POLL

“When Andy Biggs decided to run for Governor, quite unexpectedly, I had a problem — Two fantastic candidates, two terrific people, two wonderful champions, and it is therefore my Great Honor TO GIVE MY COMPLETE AND TOTAL ENDORSEMENT TO BOTH. Either one will never let you down. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” he continued.

Biggs represents a deep-red seat east of Phoenix, which opened up a Republican primary battle in that district.

If Schweikert runs, it will create another closely-watched Republican primary in Arizona’s First Congressional District, which is often considered one of the most competitive seats in the nation.

COULD THIS TOP TRUMP ALLY BREAK REPUBLICAN’S 2-DECADE LOSING STREAK IN THIS KEY STATE?

Cook Political Report ranks both the gubernatorial race and the congressional race as toss-ups.  

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 “The Arizona GOP primary for governor is already an extreme and expensive mess — and David Schweikert considering running is the latest sign the chaos and infighting is just starting. If he does run, the reality is Schweikert, Andy Biggs and Karrin Taylor Robson all share the same harmful and unpopular agenda of ripping health care away and supporting job-killing tariffs that are hiking taxes and costing small businesses a fortune,” DGA Communications Director Sam Newton said in a statement. “In contrast, Governor Hobbs is in a strong position because she has worked with both parties to make life safer and more affordable for Arizonans, including securing the border, tackling drug smuggling and human trafficking, raising pay for first responders, and eliminating the tax on rent — all while repealing the state’s 1864 near-total abortion ban. That’s the type of strong and steady leadership Arizonans will want to stick with, no matter who survives the GOP’s clown car primary.”

After Monday’s White House meetings between President Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders, the question remains: is Russian President Vladimir Putin prepared to sit down face-to-face with the Ukrainian leader — and on what terms?

Trump said he had personally called Putin to begin arranging a meeting. The Kremlin, by contrast, offered a more ambiguous response, acknowledging the idea had surfaced but refusing to confirm whether Moscow would accept.

For Putin, any such encounter would carry more weight as theater than diplomacy. “Putin would not like to meet Zelensky because he does not even recognize Ukrainian sovereignty,” Ivana Stradner, Russia expert at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital. “The only way that he can be in the room with Zelensky is if Trump facilitates, because Putin wants to show that Russia is equal to the United States… We are giving him that pleasure to feed his population about so-called Russian greatness.”

Ambassador Kurt Volker, who served as U.S. envoy to Ukraine in the first Trump administration, agreed that the Kremlin is unlikely to budge without concessions. “Putin is unlikely to accept such a meeting if his pre-conditions are not met,” he said.

TRUMP CALLS WHITE HOUSE TALKS ‘VERY GOOD, EARLY STEP’ TOWARD RUSSIA-UKRAINE PEACE: HERE’S WHAT’S NEXT

Those conditions are formidable. The Kremlin has already rejected NATO-style security guarantees for Ukraine, while Zelenskyy and European leaders have ruled out surrendering territory. Stradner warned that Putin’s strategy is to test the West’s resolve. “Eventually, Putin would challenge Western soldiers on the ground,” Stradner said. “I doubt, as things are today, that any of the Western nations, except maybe the Baltic States or Poland, would be willing to send their kids to die for Ukraine. And Putin knows this.”

The Russian leader, she added, has been emboldened by weak Western responses in the past. She pointed to the 2023 clashes in Kosovo, when ethnic Serbians attacked NATO peacekeepers, injuring 90. “What did NATO do? Nothing,” Stradner said. “That was round one. And round two is on the horizon.”

Volker, however, struck a more pragmatic tone. He noted that while Putin may posture at the negotiating table, Russia is grappling with battlefield supply line disruptions and a faltering economy. “The real issue will be what happens to Russian supply lines, increasingly targeted by Ukraine, and the Russian economy, which is faltering,” Volker said. “I still expect Putin to go along with a ceasefire in place by the end of the year.”

The White House has tried to box Putin in, with press secretary Karoline Leavitt insisting Tuesday that “he has” agreed to the meeting. “Both leaders have expressed a willingness to sit down with each other,” she said. Still, analysts caution that Moscow’s word is far from binding.

BACK FROM ALASKA, TRUMP STARTS WEEK WITH CRUCIAL FOREIGN POLICY TALKS OVER UKRAINE WAR

Russia’s foreign minister signaled that a summit was not impossible, but hedged that “any contacts involving top officials should be prepared very carefully.” He also reiterated longstanding Kremlin demands that Kyiv roll back laws Moscow claims limit the rights of Russian speakers.

Maria Snegovaya, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said a meeting would mark a shift but not a breakthrough. “So far there’s no clarity, at least in the public space, that the Kremlin is serious about meeting,” she told Fox News Digital. “Even if it still would not necessarily get us closer to an actual agreement, it would signal some willingness toward not trying to avoid provoking or annoying President Trump.”

Snegovaya added that Putin’s calculus is rooted in caution. “For over 25 years of his rule, Putin generally avoids attacking a stronger side. He usually goes after the weaker party… Georgia, Syria, Chechnya. I think he would be cautious about going after the will of the European allies, especially if a strong retaliation is promised.”

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Putin’s “fear” of Trump one last lifeline to end the war, according to Stradner. 

“He does not trust Europe, he does not respect Europe. When it comes to the US, he despises the United States, but he fears Trump, because Trump is an unpredictable leader, and that’s that’s a nightmare for Putin.”

In a major step toward ending the years-long war, Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to a bilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt made the announcement during Tuesday’s press briefing. She clarified that “if necessary” there could be a trilateral meeting involving the U.S. after Putin and Zelenskyy meet.

“President Trump spoke with President Putin by phone, and he agreed to begin the next phase of the peace process, a meeting between President Putin and President Zelenskyy, which would be followed, if necessary, by a trilateral meeting between President Putin, President Zelensky and President Trump,” Leavitt said on Tuesday.

Leavitt said that Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff would “continue to coordinate with Russia and Ukraine to make this happen as soon as possible.”

5 KEY MOMENTS INSIDE TRUMP’S ‘BIG DAY’ WITH ZELENSKYY, EUROPEAN LEADERS

The announcement comes just one day after Zelenskyy and several European leaders gathered at the White House to debrief following Trump’s high-stakes summit with Putin in Alaska. Leavitt highlighted European leaders’ praise for Trump following the Alaska and D.C. summits. 

 “I think in the past two weeks, we’ve probably had more progress in ending this war than we have in the past three-and-a-half years,” Finnish President Alexander Stubb said.

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer echoed the sentiment and acknowledged that for three-and-a-half years “nobody has been able to bring it to this point.”

TRUMP CALLS WHITE HOUSE TALKS ‘VERY GOOD, EARLY STEP’ TOWARD RUSSIA-UKRAINE PEACE: HERE’S WHAT’S NEXT

Additionally, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte thanked Trump and credited the president for breaking a “deadlock” when it comes to getting Putin to the table.

Zelenskyy, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also praised Trump’s peace efforts.

While the European leaders focused on Trump’s ability to bring an end to the war, Putin made a statement on how the brutal conflict began.

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During a joint press conference on Friday after their meeting, Putin confirmed something that Trump has insisted for nearly four years — Russia would not have invaded Ukraine had Trump not lost the 2020 election. 

“I can confirm that,” Putin said at the end of the presser.

This statement left many, including FOX News’ Jacqui Heinrich, wondering what Trump planned to do to ensure Ukraine’s security beyond 2028. Heinrich posed the question to Leavitt, who said that Trump “understands the need” for long-term security guarantees, citing his talks with European leaders and NATO following the Alaska summit.

Laken Riley’s mother and stepfather endorsed Rep. Mike Collins, a House Republican running for U.S. Senate in Georgia, according to a campaign press release.

Riley was a 22-year-old nursing student murdered last year by Venezuelan man Jose Ibarra, who was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. 

“There is simply no one else in this race who deserves to be in the U.S. Senate more than Mike Collins. He is someone who says what he means, means what he says, and actually delivers results that matter,” Allyson Riley and John Phillips, said in a statement, according to the press release. Many reports have previously referred to Riley’s mother as Allyson Phillips, not Allyson Riley, as the press release does.

TRUMP ALLY MIKE COLLINS LAUNCHES KEY BATTLEGROUND STATE BID TO FLIP DEMOCRAT-HELD SENATE SEAT

“What Mike did for our family wasn’t about politics and it wasn’t about attention or the spotlight. He stood up to do what was right and help bring justice for our sweet Laken. For that, our family will be forever grateful to Mike Collins, Senator Katie Britt, and President Trump,” they declared in the statement.

The “Laken Riley Act” was the first piece of legislation that President Donald Trump signed into law after starting his second term earlier this year.

TRUMP SIGNS LAKEN RILEY ACT INTO LAW AS FIRST LEGISLATIVE VICTORY IN NEW ADMINISTRATION

Incumbent Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff, who is aiming to win re-election next year in the Peach State, voted in favor of passing the legislation.

“The Biden administration and our current senators voted for open borders that allowed Laken’s killer to come to the United States. They were looking out for illegal immigrants instead of looking out for their own constituents,” the couple declared in their statement.

Collins noted in a post on X that he is “Incredibly humbled to have the support of Laken’s family in our race for U.S. Senate” and that “She is why I’m fighting—and her cause keeps me focused on what’s at stake.”

LAKEN RILEY MURDER: JUDGE SENTENCES COLLEGE STUDENT KILLER AFTER FAMILY ADDRESSES ‘MONSTER’ IN COURT

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Another House Republican, Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Ga., is also making a bid for the Senate seat.

As Democrats rail against President Trump’s plan to federalize and clean up Washington, D.C., a plan that includes addressing the homeless situation, a Fox News Digital review found the city’s response to the homeless problem has been fraught with issues in recent years.

Roughly 7 residents per 1,000 in the nation’s capital experience homelessness, according to numbers released in May by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, which is a rate 7 times higher than the regional rate of 1 per 1,000. 

While homeless rates were down in D.C. from 2024 to 2025, data shows the issue is still worse than it was in 2021 after rising sharply in 2024, the largest year-over-year rise in a decade.

The homeless issue has also increasingly affected young people as data shows a 13% increase in single transition-age youth experiencing homelessness in D.C., a total of about 367 individuals in 2025.

68 DC SUSPECTS ARRESTED IN SINGLE NIGHT AS WHITE HOUSE TOUTS TRUMP’S PUSH TO ‘CLEAN UP’ CAPITAL CITY

As homelessness continues to be an issue in D.C. and available bed space is at a premium, the city’s latest budget contains several spending expenditures that address far-left agenda items rather than housing the homeless.

Washington, D.C. allocated $17 million more taxpayer dollars, a total of $40 million, to treat illegal immigrants “humanely” than it did to renovate Department of Health Services homeless shelters in the city system, a total of $23 million, according to the FY 2025 budget.

The district’s budget is also full of progressive agenda spending, including $92 million reversing the defunding of D.C.’s Climate Equity Commitments Amendment Act of 2024, $5 million to support hosting the World Pride in 2025, and $1 million for constructing a LGBTQ+ community center in the Shaw neighborhood.

EXPERT FLIPS SCRIPT ON DEMS PUSHING ‘CHERRY-PICKED’ CRIME STATS TO RESIST TRUMP’S DC CRACKDOWN

Additionally, the budget includes millions in long-term spending for the Medical Cannabis Social Equity Fund, over $1 million to establish a reparations task force, and $250,000 for a Black LGBTQIA+ history program.

City leadership faced criticism last year from nonprofit groups, Washington City Paper reported, for demanding budget cuts to various homeless services, citing “spending pressures.”

The city has also had trouble providing enough beds for the homeless and data shows that the number of available beds has gone down since 2021. 

After Trump announced he was sending federal resources to D.C. to combat crime, his Department of the Interior said it was adopting a no-tolerance policy for homeless encampments in support of the Trump administration’s “beautification” efforts in Washington, D.C.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said last week that those living in homeless encampments will need to either accept treatment at a homeless shelter or go to jail if they refuse. The U.S. Park Police have already removed 70 homeless encampments in D.C., with only a few remaining, Leavitt added. 

Democrats have been loudly opposed to Trump’s attempt to clean up Washington, D.C. and protesters have taken to the streets in recent days to voice opposition to the president. 

Fox News Digital spoke with several homeless individuals on the streets of Washington, D.C., last week, some of whom voiced concern and others support for the changes.

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One homeless man, who identified himself as Kenny and lives near Dupont Circle, told Fox News Digital that Trump is right to address the issues in D.C. after the city government “failed tremendously.”

Another man, who did not give his name but also lives by Dupont, took a very different tone.  

“This is awful, it’s like what the hell, where does he get the authority? You know what I mean?” he said.

“We’re people too,” he went on. “Just because I’m homeless doesn’t mean I have to leave; we have a right to be here too.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the DC Department of Human Services and Mayor Bowser’s office for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Peter Pinedo contributed to this report

FIRST ON FOX: One Senate Republican has crafted a blueprint for how conservatives can take on Democrats in the courts and win.

Before he was in Washington D.C., Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo. served as Missouri’s attorney general during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. And during that time, he filed lawsuit after lawsuit challenging the Biden administration, Dr. Anthony Fauci and even going so far as to sue China.

And more often than not, be it through uncovering discrepancies during the discovery process or winning multibillion-dollar settlements, Schmitt was mostly successful in challenging Democratic “lawfare.”

SENATE SIGNALS READINESS TO HIT RUSSIA WITH HARD SANCTIONS IF PEACE DEAL FAILS

“The fact of the matter is, what our fights were, were about restoring individual liberty and pulling back the expanse of government,” Schmitt told Fox News Digital in an interview. “What the Left is trying to do now with their lawfare machine was, number one, they’re trying to put their opponents in jail, but then also to defend the expanse of government, to defend the administrative state. And I think if we have the right arguments, we can win.”

Schmitt detailed how to secure those winning arguments through his own experiences in his latest book “The Last Line of Defense: How to Beat the Left in Court.”

He described the book as “a field manual from the front lines of the battles that were fought against the left-wing law machine.” Indeed, Schmitt outlined a guide for attorneys general across the country to take on challenges at all levels, from local to federal.

“Our playbook really is … really in response to what their playbook was, to create a manufactured emergency, a real or manufactured emergency, to aggregate power, to exercise it in ways that never were imagined to other folks who disagree and silence dissent,” Schmitt said. “That’s what they were really trying to do.”

TEXAS DEMS END WEEKSLONG QUORUM STANDOFF IN REDISTRICTING FIGHT

In some cases, he went beyond the country’s borders and sued a foreign country, as Schmitt did to China. He argued in the book that the Chinese Communist Party had withheld information on the COVID-19 virus, and was actively hoarding high-quality personal protective equipment (PPE) while producing and selling lower-quality PPE for the rest of the world. That case resulted in an eventual $24 billion judgment earlier this year.

From there, Schmitt challenged former President Joe Biden’s student loan debt cancellation plan by focusing his case on a local student loan servicing company, a plan that was ultimately blocked by the Supreme Court just months into Schmitt’s first year as a lawmaker in 2023.

Through it all, the pandemic was the “inflection point,” Schmitt said, and his biggest target became Fauci.

He got an opportunity to depose Fauci, who served as the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and medical advisor to Biden, as part of his lawsuit taking on censorship and suppression by social media platforms like Facebook.

BILL BARR, FORMER TRUMP ATTORNEY GENERAL, ARRIVES TO FACE HOUSE INVESTIGATORS IN EPSTEIN PROBE

“He wanted to silence anybody who talked about it being a lab leak,” Schmitt said. “Which, of course, we know is that’s exactly what it was now. It wasn’t some bat mating with a penguin, you know, this was actually in the Wuhan Institute of Virology is where this thing came from.”

Schmitt, who is a fan of both former Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and Justice Clarence Thomas — particularly Scalia’s usage of originalism, or interpreting the Constitution as it was written rather than as a living document — noted in the book that there has been a “complete shift” in the courts.

In particular, conservative-leaning justices have the majority on the Supreme Court, and courts across the country are being filled, albeit slowly, with President Donald Trump’s picks.

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When asked if he was at all concerned about partisan politicking coming to the bench, Schmitt countered that courts are returning to a legal system that had been “disrupted by the progressive era, beginning with Woodrow Wilson and the rise of the administrative state, FDR, who threatened to pack the court.”

“The Constitution means exactly what it says, nothing more, nothing less, just like our laws,” he said. “They mean what they say, nothing more, nothing less.” 

“I don’t want a judge to necessarily agree with my politics,” he continued. “I just want a judge to adhere to the Constitution.”

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) invoked President Franklin Roosevelt’s internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II as the Trump administration was set to open a massive detention center at Fort Bliss in Texas on Monday.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) torched the comparison, with a top official left wondering why an organization with such a name “care[s] more about illegal aliens than U.S. citizens,” in comments to Fox News Digital.

“Comparisons of illegal alien detention centers to internment camps used during World War II are deranged and lazy. The ACLU’s smears against our brave ICE law enforcement are no doubt contributing to the more than 1,000% increase in assaults against them,” Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said.

“[The ACLU] should change their name. The facts are ICE is targeting the worst of the worst—including murderers, MS-13 gang members, pedophiles, and rapists. 70% of ICE arrests are of criminal illegal aliens who have been convicted or have pending charges in the U.S. — that doesn’t even include known or suspected terrorists, foreign gang members, convictions for violent crimes in foreign countries, or INTERPOL notices.”

BIDEN TEAM LEFT THOUSANDS OF MIGRANT KIDS WITH UNVETTED SPONSORS, RECORDS REVEAL

On Sunday, before Fort Bliss’ “Camp East Montana” center was to open at the historically pivotal military base near the U.S.–Mexico and New Mexico borders, the ACLU’s regional affiliates released a joint statement calling the move “another shameful chapter” in the base’s history.

“The renewed use of this base to detain immigrants and stage deportations comes as the Trump administration continues to misuse military resources to deport long-standing residents and other immigrants,” the release read, calling the president’s mass-deportation agenda “dystopian.”

“President Trump’s use of Fort Bliss for the nation’s largest immigrant detention site is cruel and a reminder of a shameful detention legacy,” added Sarah Mehta, a top official in the ACLU’s Equality Division – who also called on Congress to stop DHS’ agenda.

“Thousands of people, including our neighbors and loved ones, will be torn from their communities while this administration enlists the military to rubberstamp its abusive agenda.”

Fort Bliss — named after the son-in-law of Mexican-American War hero and later President Zachary Taylor — also held a small number of German and Italian immigrants during World War II.

UNION BOSS COMPARES ICE TO AL PACINO MOBSTER AS MORE DEMS PILE ON IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT

In 1942, Roosevelt initiated an executive order targeting Americans descended from countries representing the Axis powers. The Democrat ushered in the incarceration of about 120,000 Japanese-Americans and smaller numbers of Italian and German descendants.

While Fort Bliss was not a main “internment camp,” it did hold small numbers of interred U.S. citizens, including as many as 70 “Issei,” or first-generation Japanese-Americans living along the Pacific Coast.

After the war, German scientist Wernher von Braun – a former Untersturmführer in the S.S. — and other former Axis power-players worked there with the Americans to develop what eventually became the U.S. Space Program, now run by NASA.

Considered a 38,000-soldier “megabase,” it has also been a crucial staging ground for the War on Terror.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, toured Fort Bliss’ new detention facility last week and told El Paso’s NBC affiliate that the people who will be held there are already on their way out of the U.S.

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“These are people under final orders of deportation … They have no legal right to be here,” Cornyn said.

El Paso’s member of Congress, Democrat Veronica Escobar, disagreed.

Escobar argued the $1 billion price tag would “enrich” private contractors and siphon funds from other needs in her district.

As many as 5,000 detainees will be held at Fort Bliss, according to reports.

FIRST ON FOX: A conservative think tank that played a key role in shaping President Donald Trump’s “one big, beautiful bill” is circulating a new roadmap of recommendations for Republicans’ second act.

The Economic Policy Innovation Center, which styles itself as “EPIC For America,” has been circulating a new memo with key congressional GOP figures in recent days, a source familiar with the group’s plans told Fox News Digital.

The memo, which was obtained by Fox News Digital, advises lawmakers to broadly push for further Medicaid and regulatory reforms, crack down on federal dollars for government pensions and student loans, and use fiscal policy to extend conservative goals on abortion and transgender treatment.

Passing Trump’s massive agenda bill despite razor-thin majorities in the House and Senate was a major victory for Republican leaders. EPIC, which hails the bill as a success, argues that continued reforms are needed for meaningful fiscal reform.

GOP LAWMAKERS CLASH OVER STRATEGY TO AVERT GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN CRISIS

“Unfortunately, even with the victories for the American people in the OBBB, our work is far from done. We must rebuild an economy that truly works for every American, while protecting the nation’s financial foundation to ensure lasting resilience,” the memo said.

“The federal government is rapidly running out of fiscal space. Maintaining sufficient fiscal space is critical in order to respond appropriately to a crisis. Without space between the fiscal limit and the current level of debt, elected officials will not have room to maneuver in the event of war, a natural disaster, or a recession.”

On Medicaid, the memo advises further cuts to the cost-sharing burden on the federal government – known as the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) – for “large, wealthy states” as well as Washington, D.C.

FMAP refers to the rate at which the federal government matches state Medicaid payments, which is currently 50%.

The memo calls to “end the special Medicaid subsidy FMAP treatment” for D.C., whose minimum is 70%.

Republicans’ first budget reconciliation bill reduced certain FMAP expansions permitted under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), including for emergency care for states that provide Medicaid coverage to illegal immigrants.

In turn, EPIC advises lawmakers to enhance personal and employer-based healthcare, like Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangements (ICHRAs) and Health Savings Accounts (HSAs).

Medicaid cuts were one of the largest sticking points during talks for the initial bill and will likely be just as politically fraught for Republicans in the second round. Meanwhile, Democrats have been using those reforms as a political cudgel, accusing the GOP of trying to take healthcare from millions of Americans. 

But conservatives have viewed Medicaid as fraught with waste, fraud, and abuse – insisting their reforms better protect the program for vulnerable people who truly need it.

The memo also advises congressional Republicans to use the budget reconciliation process to “reform federal bureaucrat compensation and retirement” and “eliminate public sector student loan forgiveness,” among other goals.

On the social conservative policy front, EPIC appears to view an extension of the ban on taxpayer funds to abortion providers as critical to a second reconciliation bill.

The first bill was viewed as a victory for pro-life advocates in its ban on Medicaid funds for large healthcare providers that perform abortions, which would affect Planned Parenthood and other similar organizations. But that ban is only effective for a year.

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In a section titled “Protect Life and American Values,” EPIC urges lawmakers to “extend the prohibition of taxpayer funding for big abortion providers” as well as block Medicaid funds for gender transition care.

It also calls on lawmakers to “invest in election security” and “impose an excise tax on higher education institutions that allow males to participate in women’s sports.”

EPIC was founded by Paul Winfree, who served as director of budget policy during the first Trump administration.

The group also has close ties to Capitol Hill, which it flexed during talks for Trump’s first agenda bill by both recommending policy initiatives and tailoring its advice through the various steps of the budget reconciliation process.

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

Budget reconciliation, which can be used three times during a given congressional term, allows the party in power to enact broad fiscal policy changes while sidelining the opposition – in this case, Democrats – by lowering the Senate’s threshold for passage from 60 votes to 51.

Brittany Madni, EPIC executive vice president and a former congressional aide, confirmed the memo’s veracity to Fox News Digital. She said the group would use the same “playbook” it did during the first reconciliation process.

She said EPIC is looking to offer “an initial suggestion to lawmakers on what to target, and is readying to work with Republicans through the various steps of the process as details change and evolve.”

“Mandatory spending reform is an essential target for actual fiscal change in order to stave off a debt spiral. This is why a second reconciliation bill building on the wins in the OBBB is important,” Madni said.

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Two sources told Fox News Digital that the group’s efforts so far have included a staff-level briefing with the Republican Study Committee (RSC), a 189-member-strong House GOP group that serves as its own de facto think tank for the Republican conference.

Many of the aforementioned proposals were discussed at that meeting, Fox News Digital was told, with EPIC being invited to speak as part of the RSC’s new initiative to workshop a second reconciliation bill.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has already publicly stated his goal of passing further reconciliation bills. But what a second bill would look like is still unclear.

After meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska last week, President Donald Trump touted that he had a “very good meeting” with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders at the White House on Monday.

Trump, who has voiced he would like to put an end to mass bloodshed in Eastern Europe, called the multilateral meetings on Monday “a very good, early step for a War that has been going on for almost four years.”

In a Truth Social post after the discussions, Trump wrote, “I had a very good meeting with distinguished guests,” and that “everyone is very happy about the possibility of PEACE for Russia/Ukraine.”

Here are the top five takeaways from the president’s “big day” with European leaders.

1. Smiles all around

Monday’s summit marked a dramatic and noticeable shift from Trump and Vice President JD Vance’s now-infamous Oval Office meeting with Zelenskyy in February.

TRUMP SPARS WITH EUROPEAN LEADER DURING UKRAINE TALKS OVER KEY STEP TO PEACE

During that meeting, the leaders were caught on camera getting into a heated argument over several topics, including Zelenskyy allegedly not being sufficiently grateful for U.S. support.

On Monday, all the tension seemed to have disappeared. Both Trump and Zelenskyy were all smiles throughout the day, and the Ukrainian leader received a warm welcome from Trump’s cabinet, including Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Both Zelenskyy and European leaders appeared more at ease with Trump throughout the day and took an optimistic tone. After the meetings, European Union President Ursula von der Leyen posted on X, “We are here, as allies and friends, for peace in Ukraine and in Europe. This is an important moment, as we continue to work on strong security guarantees for Ukraine and a lasting and durable peace.”

2. Wardrobe upgrade

Another marked shift from February was Zelenskyy breaking from his trademark jumpsuit attire to wear a suit, something he even joked with the press about while sitting in the Oval Office with Trump.

Zelenskyy, who has been criticized for wearing casual attire to meetings with world leaders, wore all-black attire, including a button-down shirt and jacket. 

TRUMP: ZELENSKYY MEETING NOT ‘END OF THE ROAD’ FOR US SUPPORT IN SECURING A PEACE DEAL

“First of all … President Zelensky, you look fabulous in that suit,” a reporter told Zelenskyy after he sat down with Trump in the Oval Office. 

“You look good,” the reporter said before Trump added, “I said the same thing.” 

At another point during the Zelenskyy-Trump bilateral press meeting, the Ukrainian president ribbed a reporter for wearing the same suit he had in February.

“You’re in the same suit. You see, I changed, you’re not,” Zelenskyy quipped as both he and Trump burst into laughter.

3. Ceasefire not needed

On a more substantive note, Trump doubled down on his position that a ceasefire is “not needed” to broker a permanent peace between Ukraine and Russia. He cited his recent successes in negotiating peace agreements between other countries across the globe.

“I don’t think you need ceasefire. You know, if you look at the six deals that I settled this year, they were all at war,” Trump said during his press conference with Zelenskyy.

SENATE SIGNALS READINESS TO HIT RUSSIA WITH HARD SANCTIONS IF PEACE DEAL FAILS

“I didn’t do any ceasefires,” he went on, adding, “And I know that it might be good to have, but I can also understand strategically why, you know, one country or the other wouldn’t want it.” 

In a rare tense moment during the day, Trump clashed with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz over the need for a ceasefire.

Speaking with Trump and other leaders gathered around a large conference table in the White House, Merz said, “To be honest, we all would like to see a ceasefire at the latest from the next meeting on,” adding, “I can’t imagine that the next meeting would take place without a ceasefire. So, let’s work on that.”

He urged the leaders, “Let’s try to put pressure on Russia, because the credibility of this effort, these efforts we are undertaking today are depending on, at least, a ceasefire from the beginning of the serious negotiations from the next step on. So, I would like to emphasize this aspect and would like to see a ceasefire from the next meeting, which should be a trilateral meeting wherever it takes place.”

In response, Trump shot back that he is determined “to go directly to a peace agreement” without a ceasefire, saying, “Well, we’re going to let the president [Zelenskyy] go over and talk to the president [Putin], and we’ll see how that works out.”

NATO SECRETARY GENERAL TOUTS TRUMP TALKS WITH ZELENSKYY, EU LEADERS: ‘VERY SUCCESSFUL DAY’

4. United European front

In addition to Zelenskyy, seven major European leaders were present at the White House on Monday, a rare occurrence signaling a united European front and something Trump called an “honor” for the U.S.

This follows Zelenskyy doubling down on Sunday that Ukraine will not agree to cede Crimea or any of its territory to Russia as part of a peace deal.  

“Since the territorial issue is so important, it should be discussed only by the leaders of Ukraine and Russia at the trilateral [talks with] Ukraine, United States, Russia,” Zelenskyy said.

Trump said that though the U.S. would be involved with providing Ukraine with security guarantees after the war’s end, he said going forward, Europe must take much of that “burden.”

“I think that the European nations are going to take a lot of the burden,” Trump said. “We’re going to help them, and we’re going to make it very secure. We also need to discuss the possible exchanges of territory, taking into consideration the current line of contact. That means the war zone, the war line center. Pretty obvious. Very sad, actually, to look at them and negotiating positions.”

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron said that Europe is aware that it will shoulder much of the weight of responsibility tied to various security guarantees — and acknowledged it is necessary in order to preserve each respective country’s safety. 

‘HISTORIC MEETING’: GLOBAL LEADERS UNITE IN HOPES OF ENDING THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR

“In order to have such a long-standing peace for Ukraine and for the whole continent, we do need the security guarantees,” Macron said. “And the first one is clearly a credible Ukrainian army. For the years and decades to come. And the second one is our own commitments. All of us… You can be sure that the Europeans are very lucid about the fact that they have their fair share in the security guarantees for Ukraine, but their own security is clearly at stake in this situation.”

5. Putin on the line

Trump shared that he called Putin after the meetings and that there is already movement on the next step, that is, scheduling a meeting between Zelenskyy and the Russian president. After that meeting, Trump said there would then be a trilateral meeting between Zelenskyy, Putin and himself.

PUTIN STATES UKRAINE WAR WOULDN’T HAVE BEGUN IF TRUMP WAS PRESIDENT INSTEAD OF BIDEN: ‘CAN CONFIRM’

“At the conclusion of the meetings, I called President Putin, and began the arrangements for a meeting, at a location to be determined, between President Putin and President Zelenskyy. After that meeting takes place, we will have a Trilat, which would be the two Presidents, plus myself,” wrote Trump.

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In another post, Trump called the summit “a big day at the White House.”

“We have never had so many European Leaders here at one time. A great honor for America!!!” he wrote. “Lets see what the results will be???” 

Fox News Digital’s Diana Stancy, Emma Colton and Amanda Macias contributed to this report.

Democratic Rep. Sarah McBride of Delaware, who identifies as a transgender woman, accused President Donald Trump of waging an attack against “American democracy.”

“This president is taking notes from his favorite dictator. Let’s be clear: a president with popular policies wouldn’t need to illegally gerrymander districts, ban voting machines, or abolish vote-by-mail,” a Monday night post on the lawmaker’s @Rep_McBride X account declared. “This is an all-out assault not just on free and fair elections—but on American democracy itself.” 

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment early on Tuesday morning.

TRANS DEM REP. MCBRIDE SUGGESTS PARTY WENT TOO FAR WITH TRANSGENDER AGENDA BEFORE PUBLIC WAS READY

Trump, who has been aiming to help bring an end to the Russia-Ukraine war, met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and multiple other European figures in Washington D.C. on Monday after meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday.

During an interview with Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity on Friday after meeting with Putin, Trump said of the foreign leader, “Vladimir Putin, smart guy, said you can’t have an honest … election with mail-in voting.”

TRUMP ANNOUNCES HE’LL HELM MOVEMENT TO ELIMINATE MAIL-IN VOTING AND VOTING MACHINES: ‘FIGHT LIKE HELL’

Trump declared in a Truth Social post on Monday that he will “lead a movement to” eliminate voting machines and mail-in balloting from U.S. elections.

“WE WILL BEGIN THIS EFFORT … by signing an EXECUTIVE ORDER to help bring HONESTY to the 2026 Midterm Elections,” he declared in part of the lengthy post.

TRUMP MOVES TO BROKER PUTIN-ZELENSKYY MEETING FOLLOWING DC PEACE TALKS

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“ELECTIONS CAN NEVER BE HONEST WITH MAIL IN BALLOTS/VOTING, and everybody, IN PARTICULAR THE DEMOCRATS, KNOWS THIS. I, AND THE REPUBLICAN PARTY, WILL FIGHT LIKE HELL TO BRING HONESTY AND INTEGRITY BACK TO OUR ELECTIONS. THE MAIL-IN BALLOT HOAX, USING VOTING MACHINES THAT ARE A COMPLETE AND TOTAL DISASTER, MUST END, NOW!!!” the president exclaimed in another portion of the post.

President Donald Trump described his White House negotiations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders as “a very good, early step” toward ending the nearly four-year-old Russia-Ukraine war, announcing that he has already spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin about arranging a direct meeting with Zelenskyy.

Trump said the group of world leaders held discussions on security guarantees for Ukraine, with commitments coming primarily from European nations “in coordination with the United States” in a statement on Truth Social after the meetings.

“Everyone is very happy about the possibility of PEACE for Russia/Ukraine,” Trump said, adding that Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and special envoy Steve Witkoff are now leading follow-up talks with Moscow and Kyiv.

Zelenskyy signaled he too was ready to meet directly with Putin. 

A Kremlin readout of the Trump-Putin call confirmed the pair “discussed the idea of raising the level of direct Russian-Ukrainian negotiations,” but did not say whether Putin had agreed. 

FLASHBACK: WHAT HAPPENED THE PREVIOUS TIME ZELENSKYY MET WITH TRUMP IN THE OVAL OFFICE

Trump outlines next steps

Trump revealed that following the Oval Office meetings he phoned Putin to begin making “arrangements for a meeting, at a location to be determined, between President Putin and President Zelenskyy.” If that takes place, he said, the next stage would be a “Trilat” — a trilateral meeting involving himself, Putin, and Zelenskyy.

Zelenskyy said he would be open to a meeting with Trump and Putin or a meeting with just Putin next. 

“We confirmed that we are ready for a trilateral meeting,” the Ukrainian president told reporters after the meeting. “And if Russia proposed to the President of the United States bilateral, and then we will see the result of the bilateral, then it can be trilateral. So I said, always, Ukraine will never stop on the way to peace, and we are ready for any kind of format but on the level of leaders.”

While Trump has previously cast himself as a mediator rather than a dealmaker, the suggestion that Putin is open to meeting face-to-face with Zelenskyy marked the biggest breakthrough in peace negotiations yet. “Again, this was a very good, early step for a war that has been going on for almost four years,” he said.

Security guarantees under discussion

The idea of “security guarantees” has long been central to Ukraine’s demands. According to Trump, these would be provided primarily by European states, coordinated with Washington. Ahead of the meetings, Trump had not ruled out U.S. military involvement in the guarantees, but he has since stressed that Europe will bear the primary burden of defending Ukraine.

Trump also reiterated his view that U.S. support should come through arms sales rather than aid packages. “We’re not giving anything. We’re selling weapons,” he said earlier this week. Ukraine has reportedly floated a proposal to buy as much as $100 billion in U.S.-made weapons with European financing, according to the Financial Times. 

Land swaps may be on the table 

During the meeting, Trump and Zelenskyy were pictured viewing a map outlining the front lines of the war and the Ukrainian territory currently occupied by Russia, about 20% of the country. Trump may have used the map to discuss with Zelenskyy which regions he could realistically part with in order to obtain peace. 

According to a source familiar with Zelenskyy’s visit planning, clarity on U.S. and European security guarantees could help the Ukrainian leader make the case domestically for any territorial concessions — a likely core element of talks with Russia. The question of which areas Ukraine could “let go” and which it must retain remains deeply sensitive in Kyiv, where public opinion has hardened after years of fighting and heavy civilian losses.

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Russia’s categorical rejection

Moscow strongly opposed the concept of NATO-style guarantees. The Russian foreign ministry released a statement during the White House talks warning that any arrangement involving NATO countries could trigger “uncontrolled escalation” with “unpredictable consequences,” according to state media outlet RIA. That categorical rejection underscores the difficulty of bridging the gap between Ukraine’s security needs and Russia’s demands.

European leaders weigh in

German Chancellor Merz stressed that no meaningful talks could occur without at least a temporary ceasefire.

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“I can’t imagine that the next meeting would take place without a ceasefire,” Merz said. “So let’s work on that and put pressure on Russia, because the credibility of these efforts depends on at least a ceasefire.”

Fox News’ Jacqui Heinrich contributed to this report. 

Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is turning up the volume in his attacks on New York City mayoral rival Zohran Mamdani over the issue of prostitution.

Cuomo, who is running for mayor of the nation’s most populous city as an independent after Mamdani topped him by double digits in June’s Democratic Party primary, argues that if the 33-year-old democratic socialist state lawmaker from Queens wins in November, “New York City would become prostitution capital of the country.”

Mamdani, whose victory over Cuomo and nine other candidates in the Democratic mayoral primary sent political shockwaves across the country, called for the decriminalization of sex work when he first ran for the state legislature in 2020.

And as a state assemblyman, Mamdani co-sponsored bills to decriminalize sex work statewide. 

BATTLE FOR NEW YORK CITY MAYOR: MAMDANI RIVALS DEFIANT AGAINST DROPPING OUT

But he has rarely spoken out on the issue during his 2025 run for mayor.

Asked at a campaign event on Sunday about criticism over his stance on decriminalizing prostitution from Cuomo and incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who is also running as an independent candidate as he seeks re-election, Mamdani said “my focus on this campaign has long been to make this city one that every New Yorker can afford, where they are safe and where they live a life of dignity.”

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Pointing to those comments, Cuomo said at a news conference on Monday that Mamdani “was asked yesterday if he would direct the NYPD to stop making prostitution arrests. He didn’t say yes or no but suggested he’d emulate former Mayor Bill de Blasio.”

Cuomo, who has long been a loud critic of de Blasio, a former two-term progressive New York City mayor, noted that prostitution arrests cratered during de Blasio’s tenure in office.

“He’d emulate former Mayor Bill de Blasio when it came to prostitution arrests,” Cuomo claimed. “If you listen to him, and you look to his polices, he’s going to be de Blasio 2.0, and I believe that’s the last thing this city needs.”

Proponents of decriminalizing prostitution argue that the move makes sex workers less susceptible to exploitation and violence. But studies suggest that in areas where prostitution is legal, there’s an increase in crime and human trafficking.

NEW CANDIDATE ENTERS NYC MAYORAL RACE

Parts of New York City have seen an influx of sex workers since then-Gov. Cuomo signed a law in early 2021 that repealed statues against loitering for the purpose of prostitution.

Asked about that bill, the former governor said, “The loitering bill, I’d have to check. I don’t remember that bill frankly.”

But Cuomo highlighted that earlier on Monday, he visited the Roosevelt Avenue corridor in Queens, one of the areas that’s seen a dramatic rise in sex workers.

“There were signs of prostitution on the street. I spoke to store owners. They are very concerned about it. They think it’s destructive for their business, destructive for their neighborhood, it’s a bad influence on children,” Cuomo said.

Mamdani, who was born in Uganda and who would become New York City’s first Muslim and first millennial if he wins November’s election, has also been criticized over prostitution by Adams.

“I don’t know where in his Quran it states that it’s okay for a woman to be on the streets selling their body. I don’t know what Quran he is reading,” the mayor said as he spoke to reporters on Sunday.

Mamdani surged to a primary victory thanks to an energetic campaign that put a major focus on affordability and New York City’s high cost of living. It was fueled by a grassroots army of supporters and backing from top national progressive champions, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

Mamdani made smart use of social media platforms, including TikTok, as he engaged low-propensity voters. He proposed eliminating fares to ride New York City’s vast bus system, making CUNY (City University of New York) “tuition-free,” freezing rents on municipal housing, offering “free childcare” for children up to age 5 and setting up government-run grocery stores.

The latest polls indicate that Mamdani is the clear front-runner in a city where Democrats vastly outnumber Republicans.

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Guardian Angels co-founder Curtis Sliwa, who for a second straight election is the Republican mayoral nominee, is also on the ballot. Also on the ballot in the general election is Jim Walden, a former federal prosecutor running as an independent.

The Mamdani campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on Monday’s criticism from Cuomo.

Former Attorney General Bill Barr told House investigators on Monday that he never saw anything that could tie President Donald Trump to Jeffrey Epstein’s sordid crimes, Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., said.

“He said that he had never seen anything that would implicate President Trump in any of this, and that he believed if there had been anything pertaining to President Trump with respect to the Epstein list, that he felt like the Biden administration would probably have leaked it out,” Comer told reporters partway through Barr’s testimony.

The ex-Trump administration official is the first person to appear in the House Oversight Committee’s probe into the federal government’s handling of Epstein’s case.

Like others subpoenaed to testify after him, Barr’s deposition is being conducted behind closed doors.

HOUSE SUBCOMMITTEE VOTED IN FAVOR OF SUBPOENAING BILL AND HILLARY CLINTON OVER GHISLAINE MAXWELL CONNECTION

Comer said Barr told investigators that he “didn’t know anything about a client list,” and did not have conversations with Trump about such a list.

“Barr said he’s never seen any information that showed that he was in the files, and that he would be shocked if there was anything pertaining to President Trump that was negative that the Biden administration wouldn’t have leaked out prior to the presidential election,” Comer said.

Democrats who were in the room for the first two hours of Barr’s deposition were much more vague about what went on, but they accused Republicans of taking too soft an approach.

“I have more questions now than I did before going in,” Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, D-Va., told reporters before Comer’s remarks. “Just generally, though, I think the Democratic side is doing most of the heavy lifting. I don’t think we’re learning much from the questioning from the House Republicans.”

SCHUMER CLAIMS TRUMP ADMIN WITHHOLDING EPSTEIN FILES, THREATENS TO SUE

Comer said when asked about those comments, “I think it’s unfortunate that the Democrats are trying to, seems to me, politicize this.”

Barr served as attorney general from February 2019 through December 2020, during Trump’s first administration. It was his second stint leading the Department of Justice (DOJ) after first holding the job under former President George H.W. Bush.

Barr notably led the DOJ when Epstein died by suicide in August 2019 while awaiting trial in a New York City jail.

He said days later at a Fraternal Order of Police event in New Orleans that he was “appalled” and “angry” at what he said was the facility’s “failure to adequately secure this prisoner.”

Barr told the Associated Press later that year that he was personally involved in investigating Epstein’s death, specifically that he reviewed security footage from that night that he said showed no one entering the cell the night the late pedophile died.

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He eventually concluded Epstein did die by suicide, Barr told the outlet, owing to “a perfect storm of screw-ups” at the jail.

When asked if Barr told as much to House investigators on Monday, Comer declined to “speak for” the former attorney general but added he believed the “general consensus” was that Epstein killed himself with no external foul play.

Barr’s testimony is part of a wider bipartisan investigation into the handling of Epstein’s case, which has also reached several former attorneys general, FBI directors, and former first couple Bill and Hillary Clinton.

Just as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Washington, D.C., to meet President Donald Trump at the White House, Russia routed his nation with airstrikes on Monday, killing 10.

Seven people, including a toddler and a 16-year-old, were killed by a Russian drone strike on the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, according to local authorities.

Ukrainian officials took the strikes as a message from Russian President Vladimir Putin that he has no intention to end the war. 

“That’s why Putin doesn’t want to cease fire,” Andriy Yermak, Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, wrote on Telegram. “He enjoys shelling peaceful cities while talking about his desire to end the war.”

ZELENSKYY TO MEET WITH TRUMP IN WASHINGTON, DC FOLLOWING US-RUSSIA TALKS

Video footage of the aftermath released by local authorities shows a residential building where the upper levels collapsed, with firefighters hosing it down as smoke rises from the rubble. 

A partially blurred photo released by Ukraine’s emergency services appeared to show a firefighter holding the limp body of a child. 

Ihor Terekhov, the mayor of Kharkiv, wrote on Telegraph that he believed the attack on the residential building was “deliberate.”

“Five enemy ‘Shaheds’ approached it from different directions and targeted people who were peacefully sleeping at five in the morning,” he said, referring to armed drones.  

At least three others were killed in an attack in the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, and nearly 20 people injured, local authorities said. 

Zelenskyy addressed the Monday bombings at the start of his meeting with Trump, noting a one-and-a-half-year-old had been killed. 

AMERICAN CITIZEN KILLED IN RUSSIAN ATTACK ON KYIV, STATE DEPARTMENT CONFIRMS

“We need to stop this war, to stop Russia. And we need support, American and European partners. We will do our best for this,” Zelenskyy said.

Russia had made gains in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region ahead of Putin’s summit with Trump in Alaska, in a movement onlookers believed was designed to gain territorial leverage ahead of high-stakes negotiations. 

But since at least the start of this month, Russia has seemingly reduced the number of drones and missiles it fires toward Ukrainian cities each night. 

Trump, ahead of his meeting with Putin, had said he would be “unhappy” if the Russian leader did not agree to a ceasefire. 

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And while Putin did not appear to agree to a ceasefire at that meeting, Trump touted the meeting as a win and said the pair had reached agreement on a number of issues. 

A United Nations report found that between December 2024 and May 2025, 1,000 civilians in Ukraine, including Russian-occupied areas, had been killed. 

The Trump administration will begin handing over documents related to Jeffrey Epstein’s case to the House Oversight Committee on Friday, Chair James Comer, R-Ky., said.

House investigators originally requested the Department of Justice (DOJ) produce a tranche of files pertaining to the late pedophile and his accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, by 12 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 19. 

It’s part of a wider bipartisan investigation into the handling of Epstein’s case, which has also reached several former attorneys general, FBI directors, and former first couple Bill and Hillary Clinton.

HOUSE SUBCOMMITTEE VOTED IN FAVOR OF SUBPOENAING BILL AND HILLARY CLINTON OVER GHISLAINE MAXWELL CONNECTION

Comer announced Monday afternoon that he would delay the deadline until Friday in light of the DOJ’s cooperation.

“Officials with the Department of Justice have informed us that the Department will begin to provide Epstein-related records to the Oversight Committee this week on Friday. There are many records in DOJ’s custody, and it will take the Department time to produce all the records and ensure the identification of victims and any child sexual abuse material are redacted,” Comer said in a statement.

“I appreciate the Trump administration’s commitment to transparency and efforts to provide the American people with information about this matter.”

Comer told reporters earlier Monday that his panel was having “good conversations” with the DOJ related to document production but was noncommittal when asked if the Aug. 19 goal would be met.

“You can imagine how many documents there are,” Comer said. “I think we’ll receive the documents very soon. They’re compiling everything together.”

Comer said the DOJ was cooperating “in a good faith effort.”

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Requested materials included all documents and communications in the DOJ’s possession relating to both Epstein and Maxwell, as well as files “further relating or referring to human trafficking, exploitation of minors, sexual abuse, or related activity.”

Documents relating specifically to the DOJ’s prosecutions of Epstein and Maxwell, Epstein’s 2007 non-prosecution agreement with federal prosecutors in Florida, and any materials related to Epstein’s death were requested.

The House Oversight Committee asked for the documents to be largely unredacted, according to a subpoena obtained by Fox News Digital, “except for redactions to protect the personally identifiable information of victims, for any child sex abuse material as defined by the Department of Justice Manual, and any other redactions required by law.”

The deadline comes a day after former Attorney General Bill Barr was deposed by the House Oversight Committee behind closed doors. Barr was the first person scheduled to appear in the committee’s probe under subpoena.

The Clintons both have separate deposition dates scheduled for October.

Comer was directed to send the flurry of subpoenas after a House Oversight Committee subcommittee panel voted in favor of them during an unrelated hearing in July.

Renewed furor over Epstein’s case engulfed Capitol Hill after intra-GOP fallout over the Trump administration’s handling of the matter.

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The DOJ effectively declared the case closed after an “exhaustive review,” revealing Epstein had no “client list,” did not blackmail “prominent individuals,” and confirmed he did die by suicide in a New York City jail while awaiting prosecution.

In response to the backlash by some on the right, Trump directed the DOJ to release grand jury testimony related to Epstein – a request that’s been tied up in courts since then – while Attorney General Pam Bondi had her deputy, Todd Blanche, interview Maxwell in person to uncover any possible new information.

Comer also subpoenaed Maxwell but agreed to defer her scheduled deposition until after the Supreme Court heard her appeal to overturn her conviction.

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

President Donald Trump predicted Monday that European allies would bear the brunt of responsibility providing Ukraine certain security guarantees to prevent Russian aggression, but that the U.S. would also help them. 

Trump’s comments come as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, along with other European leaders, visited Washington, D.C., to advance peace talks to end the war in Ukraine just days after Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

“President Putin agreed that Russia would accept security guarantees for Ukraine. And this is one of the key points that we need to consider,” Trump said Monday during a meeting with European leaders at the White House. “And, we’re going to be considering that at the table. Also, like who will do what? Essentially, I’m optimistic that collectively we can reach an agreement that would deter any future aggression against Ukraine.” 

ZELENSKYY HEADS INTO CRUCIAL TRUMP MEETING AS US WEIGHS SECURITY GUARANTEES FOR KYIV

“I think that the European nations are going to take a lot of the burden,” Trump said. “We’re going to help them, and we’re going to make it very secure. We also need to discuss the possible exchanges of territory, taking into consideration the current line of contact. That means the war zone, the war line center. Pretty obvious. Very sad, actually, to look at them and negotiating positions.”

Trump said Sunday that Ukraine could end the war immediately if it agreed to cede Crimea to Russia, and abandon its bid for NATO membership. Meanwhile, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff also said Sunday that Putin has agreed to allow the U.S. and other European allies to provide additional protection for Ukraine, similar to protections included in NATO’s Article 5 mutual defense clause.

ZELENSKYY ARRIVES IN WASHINGTON, DC FOR TRUMP MEETING, URGES LASTING PEACE WITH RUSSIA

Likewise, Trump said earlier Monday that he hadn’t ruled out the possibility that U.S. troops could be dispatched to Ukraine following a peace negotiation to deter Russian aggression to support other European allies bolstering security for Ukraine. Although he refrained from sharing specific details, Trump said that the U.S. is “going to help them out also. We’ll be involved.” 

For his part, Zelenskyy said U.S. backing on security guarantees is critical to delivering stability to Ukraine. 

“Security in Ukraine depends on the United States and on you and on those leaders who are with us in our hearts,” Zelenskyy said Monday. 

“We spoke about it and we will speak more about security guarantees,” Zelenskyy said. “This is very important that the United States gives such strong signal and is ready for security guarantees.” 

EUROPEAN LEADERS WILL JOIN TRUMP-ZELENSKYY MEETING, SIGNALING SOLIDARITY WITH UKRAINE

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron said that Europe is aware that it will shoulder much of the weight of responsibility tied to various security guarantees — and acknowledged it is necessary in order to preserve each respective country’s safety. 

“In order to have such a long-standing peace for Ukraine and for the whole continent, we do need the security guarantees,” Macron said. “And the first one is clearly a credible Ukrainian army. For the years and decades to come. And the second one is our own commitments. All of us… You can be sure that the Europeans are very lucid about the fact that they have their fair share in the security guarantees for Ukraine, but their own security is clearly at stake in this situation.”

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz broke with the generally optimistic tone of European leaders during their meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and President Donald Trump on Monday, stating that peace talks could not continue without a ceasefire.

This follows Trump’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday and a meeting with Zelenskyy on Monday.

Merz, who has been in office since May, issued an impassioned call for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine, despite Trump having repeatedly expressed his belief that a ceasefire is not necessary to achieve a permanent peace between Russia and Ukraine.

Merz thanked the president for arranging the meeting at the White House, calling it “extremely helpful.”

However, he said that “the next steps ahead are the more complicated ones.”

TRUMP: ZELENSKYY MEETING NOT ‘END OF THE ROAD’ FOR US SUPPORT IN SECURING A PEACE DEAL

“Now the path is open. You opened it last Friday, but now the way is open for complicated negotiations,” he said, adding, “And to be honest, we all would like to see a ceasefire at the latest from the next meeting on.”

“I can’t imagine that the next meeting would take place without a ceasefire,” he went on. “So, let’s work on that.”

He urged leaders to pressure Russia to agree to a ceasefire, saying, “Let’s try to put pressure on Russia, because the credibility of this effort, these efforts we are undertaking today are depending on, at least, a ceasefire from the beginning of the serious negotiations from the next step on. So, I would like to emphasize this aspect and would like to see a ceasefire from the next meeting, which should be a trilateral meeting wherever it takes place.”

In response, Trump, who has said he is determined “to go directly to a peace agreement” without a ceasefire, said, “Well, we’re going to let the president [Zelenskyy] go over and talk to the president [Putin], and we’ll see how that works out.”

‘OUR POSITION IS CLEAR:’ ZELENSKYY AND EU DISMISS CEDING UKRAINIAN LAND TO RUSSIA

Trump pointed to his recent successes in helping to broker peace deals between other countries without a ceasefire.

“I will say, and again, I say it, in the six wars that I’ve settled, I haven’t had a ceasefire,” he said. “We just got into negotiations and… one of the wars was, as you know, in the Congo, was 30 years, 31 years long. Another one that we settled last week was two great countries, was 35 years going on, and we had no ceasefire.”

“So, if we can do the ceasefire, great. And, if we don’t do the ceasefire because many other points were given to us, many, many points were given to us. Great points,” he added.

PRESIDENT TRUMP TOUTS SOLVING ‘MAJOR WARS’ MEDIA DOESN’T COVER

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Trump has previously said that if his meeting with Zelenskyy went well, they will work to schedule a trilateral meeting with Putin, presumably to get a peace agreement finalized and signed.

Fox News Digital’s Rachel Wolf contributed to this report.