NationalWatch

Democrat New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker blasted his fellow Democrats for being complicit with President Donald Trump’s actions during a testy objection to a package of new police legislation voted on by the Senate earlier today. 

Booker accused his fellow Democrat senators of aligning themselves with Trump because they are in favor of passing legislation, which, void of amendments Booker just began pushing, still allows the president to pick winners and losers in terms of who receives the benefits, he says. “This to me is the problem with Democrats in America right now,” Booker complained while objecting to the package of pro-police bills. 

Booker’s objection to the bill, which he says boosts Trump’s use of federal funding as leverage to get jurisdictions and entities to change their behavior, comes as the president has threatened to repeal funding and resources from cities and other jurisdictions that push sanctuary city policies, fail to adequately address homelessness, or refuse compliance with other federal directives.

“The Democratic Party needs a wake up call. I see law firms bending a knee to this president… I see universities that should be bastions of free speech bending at the knee to this president… I see businesses taking late-night talk show hosts off the air because they dare to insult a president. I see people who want mergers suddenly think they need to pay tribute to this president,” Booker complained from the Senate floor. 

“And what are the very people here elected to defend the constitution of the United States saying?” he asked. “‘Oh well, today let’s look the other way and pass some resources that won’t go to Connecticut, that won’t go to Illinois, that won’t go to New York, that will go to the states [Trump] likes.'” 

‘PROFOUND COWARDICE’: BOOKER SLAMS WALTZ FOR ‘FAILURE OF LEADERSHIP,’ SIGNALGATE ACCOUNTABILITY

“That is complicity with an authoritarian leader who is trashing our country,” Booker argued to his fellow Democrats. “It is time for Democrats to have a backbone. It’s time for us to fight. It’s time for us to draw a line, and when it comes to the safety of my state being denied these grants, that’s why I’m standing here.”

Booker’s objection stemmed from a call from Democrats to pass a package of law enforcement-related bills aimed at boosting resources for police, including resources to help shore up death benefits for police officers lost in the line of duty, resources for greater mental health support for officers, resources to address child exploitation, and more. The bills, which eventually passed Tuesday, were discussed and approved in committee before reaching the Senate floor.

BOOKER CONCLUDES RECORD 25-HOUR SPEECH AGAINST TRUMP, MUSK, MARKING THE LONGEST EVER ON THE SENATE FLOOR

Democrat leaders, including Sens. Catherine Cortez-Masto, D-Nev., and Amy Klobuchar, D-Mass., urged passage of the legislative package amid Booker’s objection, noting it went through the proper bipartisan procedure and obtained bipartisan support.

“We have committees for a reason, and we have hearings for a reason,” Klobuchar said in response to Booker’s objections. She added that “we need to have [law enforcement’s] backs and that is what this package of bills does.”

Cortez-Masto noted that the bills, which she helped sponsor and bring to the floor for a full vote, slammed Booker for attempting to tank a package of bills deemed critical by both parties. 

“I don’t need lectures about the urgency of this,” Booker shot back in response to his party colleagues’ criticism. “I am tired of when the president of the United States violates the constitution, trashes our norms and traditions, and what does the Democratic Party do? Comply? Allow him? Beg for scraps? No! I demand justice!”

“NOT ON MY WATCH!” Booker added during his objection, while also urging Democrats to be more cohesive in their fight against Trump. “If we don’t stand as Democrats we deserve to lose.”

BOOKER WON’T ACCEPT MONEY FROM ELON MUSK FOR CAMPAIGN, BUT URGES HIM TO ‘SOUND THE ALARM’ ON TRUMP-BACKED BILL  

Booker’s criticism of his fellow Democratic Party members lays bare Democrats’ intra-party fighting between the more radical wing of the party and the more moderate wing. 

The New Jersey senator’s criticism also comes as the party is seeking to find the best strategy forward following big GOP gains during the 2024 election. 

Former President Barack Obama spoke about the matter at a party fundraiser earlier this month, reportedly telling leaders of the party and major donors to “stop looking for a quick fix” and start supporting candidates who can really win and produce results. As an example, the former president pointed particularly at the upcoming elections in New Jersey and Virginia.

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Later this year, Virginia will face a major gubernatorial battle between incumbent GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears and former long-time Virginia Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va. In New Jersey, Democrat Rep. Mikie Sherrill, who was reportedly in attendance at the fundraiser Obama spoke at, is running for her state’s open gubernatorial seat against GOP candidate Jack Ciattarelli.

“The most important thing you can do right now is to help the team, our candidate, to win,” Obama told attendees at the fundraiser.

Los Angeles County officials are calling for an ordinance to prohibit law enforcement officers from concealing their identities while on duty. 

The move comes after recent federal immigration raids in the city where some federal agents covered their faces with masks and refused to reveal their identities, which is not abnormal.

The Board of Supervisors voted 4–0, with one abstention, on Tuesday to direct county counsel to draft an ordinance that bans law enforcement, including federal agents, from wearing masks, with some exceptions including for medical protection or during undercover operations. 

Officers would also be required to visibly display identification and agency affiliation while on duty in public.

MASSACHUSETTS BILL WOULD FORCE ICE AGENTS TO UNMASK

Federal agents have conducted ICE raids in Southern California since June under President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda, sparking protests and the subsequent federal deployment of the National Guard and Marines. About half the Guard troops and all the Marines have since been pulled out of Los Angeles.

Supervisor Janice Hahn, who co-authored the motion, said the raids have provoked fear and residents have a right to know who is stopping, questioning or detaining them.

“Across the county, people are being pulled out of their cars, beaten, and ripped from their families by men in tactical gear with balaclavas, no badges, and no names,” Hahn said. “That’s not how law enforcement in a democracy should operate.”

Hahn admitted that it is unclear if the county will be able to enforce the measure against actions by federal agencies, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“Ultimately, it might have to be decided by a court,” she said.

FROM ‘SAFETY’ TO ‘FASCIST STATE’: SENATORS SHARE OPINIONS ON ICE AGENTS WEARING MASKS

Administration officials have defended officers who conceal their identities, arguing that immigration agents do it for their safety to avoid potential death threats and doxing, which includes releasing someone’s personal information online without their permission.

“I’m sorry if people are offended by them wearing masks, but I’m not going to let my officers and agents go out there and put their lives on the line, their family on the line because people don’t like what immigration enforcement is,” ICE acting director Todd Lyons said last month.

A pending measure in the state legislature would prohibit local, state and federal police from covering their faces while on duty in the Golden State. Similar legislation has been proposed in other states and U.S. Sens. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., and Cory Booker, D-N.J., have introduced a bill at the federal level.

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In Los Angeles County, the county counsel has 60 days to submit the draft ordinance to the board for approval.

Supervisor Hilda Solis, the other co-author, said local officials must establish expectations about how law enforcement should conduct themselves in the county.

“The use of masks, tactical gear, and refusal to show identification is not only alarming and confusing, but erodes public trust and raises serious safety concerns,” Solis said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Senate confirmed yet another of President Donald Trump’s nominees on Tuesday, this time for a position that maintains veterans’ cemeteries and oversees burials.

Sam Brown, an Army veteran and former Nevada GOP Senate candidate, was confirmed by the Senate to be Trump’s Veteran’s Affairs undersecretary for memorial affairs. The 54-44 vote was largely a partisan affair, save for Nevada’s Democratic Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto and Jackie Rosen, who both crossed the aisle to vote for Brown’s confirmation.

KEY TRUMP NOMINEES STALLED BY SENATE DEMS PUTS PRESSURE ON GOP LEADERS

The undersecretary for memorial affairs oversees the National Cemetery Administration, which operates and maintains over 150 national cemeteries. National cemeteries across the country have roughly 4 million veterans interred in their grounds, according to the VA.

And the National Cemetery Administration provides for over 100,000 military veterans and eligible family members each year.

Trump nominated Brown, who served in the army for five years before medically retiring after a roadside improvised explosive device detonated and burned one-third of his body, in January, and lauded him as an “American hero” in a post on his social media platform Truth Social at the time.

SENATE CONFIRMS TRUMP PICK TO LEAD INDEPENDENT NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

“He fearlessly proved his love for our country in the army, while leading troops in battle in Afghanistan and, after being honorably retired as a captain, helping our veterans get access to emergency medications,” Trump said.

Brown’s confirmation marked the third of the day in the Senate, where a growing list of Trump’s nominees to a variety of agencies, judgeships and ambassadorships have been slowed down by Senate Democrats.

Senate Republican leadership are trudging through the Democrats’ blockade, and working to hammer out a deal to get more nominees moved through quicker.

‘ALL THE OPTIONS’: GOP EYES CUTTING AUGUST RECESS TO MOVE DOZENS OF TRUMP NOMINEES STALLED BY DEMS

Senate Republicans argued that Brown’s position, in particular, shouldn’t be subject to the partisanship on display in Democrats’ attempts to slow walk other, more controversial nominees.

Sen. Jerry Moran, chair of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, had his request earlier this year to confirm Brown through a much faster process, known as unanimous consent, objected to by Senate Democrats in May.

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“Laying our veterans to rest with honor, serving their families with dignity is not a Republican or Democrat issue,” the Kansas Republican said in a statement at the time. “I am discouraged that we cannot work in a bipartisan manner to confirm this qualified and capable leader for the National Cemetery Administration. That position is responsible for carrying out our nation’s most solemn responsibility, burying our veterans.”

The Senate confirmed President Donald Trump’s nominee, Emil Bove, as a federal judge Tuesday, handing a controversial leader at the Department of Justice a lifetime role on a powerful appellate court.

Bove was narrowly confirmed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit in a 50-49 vote with no support from Democrats. His confirmation followed a contentious weeks-long vetting process that included three whistleblower complaints and impassioned outside figures voicing both support and opposition to his nomination.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said from the Senate floor before the vote that he supported Bove and believed the nominee had been the target of “unfair accusations and abuse.”

“He has a strong legal background and has served his country honorably. I believe he will be a diligent, capable, and fair jurist,” Grassley said. 

Bove’s ascension to the appellate court marks a peak in his legal career. He will leave behind his job as principal associate deputy attorney general at the DOJ.

TOP DOJ OFFICIAL FACES TEST IN SENATE OVER NOMINATION TO BECOME FEDERAL JUDGE

Bove started out as a high-achieving student, college athlete and Georgetown University law school graduate. He went on to clerk for two federal judges and worked for about a decade as a federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York, leading high-profile terrorism and drug trafficking cases through 2019.

Alongside Todd Blanche, now a deputy attorney general, Bove led Trump’s personal defense team during the president’s criminal prosecutions. Blanche told Fox News Digital in an interview last month that Bove was a “brilliant lawyer” who authored the vast majority of their legal briefs for Trump. In a letter to the Senate, attorney Gene Schaerr called Bove’s brief writing “superb.”

But Democrats and some who crossed paths with Bove during his time in New York and at DOJ headquarters fiercely opposed his nomination and said he was unqualified.

KEY TRUMP NOMINEES STALLED BY SENATE DEMS PUT PRESSURE ON GOP LEADERS

One whistleblower, Erez Reuveni, had become a successful prosecutor at the DOJ over the last 15 years when he was fired under Bove’s watch. Reuveni said he was party to a meeting in March in which Bove floated defying any court orders that would hinder one of Trump’s most legally questionable deportation plans, a claim Bove denies. Reuveni also said the culture at the DOJ, particularly during the most intense moments of immigration lawsuits, involved misleading federal judges and was like nothing he had experienced during his tenure, which included Trump’s first term.

Two other anonymous whistleblowers emerged at the eleventh hour during the confirmation process and vouched for Reuveni’s claims.

A spokeswoman for Grassley told Fox News Digital the third whistleblower only brought claims to Senate Democrats and did not attempt to engage with Grassley. Grassley’s staff eventually met with the whistleblower’s lawyers after the chairman’s office reached out, the spokeswoman said.

Grassley said his staff interviewed more than a dozen people to vet the initial whistleblower claims and could not find evidence that Bove urged staff to defy the courts.

“Even if you accept most of the claims as true, there’s no scandal,” Grassley said. “Government lawyers aggressively litigating and interpreting court orders isn’t misconduct—it’s what lawyers do.”

While in New York, Bove also alienated his fair share of colleagues. In 2018, a band of defense lawyers said in emails reported by The Associated Press that Bove could not “be bothered to treat lesser mortals with respect or empathy.” Another lawyer who had interactions with Bove in New York told Fox News Digital he was a “bully” who browbeat people. 

TRUMP CONSIDERS FORMER DEFENSE ATTORNEY EMIL BOVE FOR FEDERAL APPEALS COURT VACANCY

A group that opposes Bove’s nomination, Justice Connection, published a letter signed by more than 900 former DOJ employees calling for the Senate to reject Bove’s nomination.

Among their concerns was that Bove led the controversial dismissal of Democratic New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ federal corruption charges. Several DOJ officials resigned in protest over Bove’s orders to toss out the charges. In the letter, the former employees said Bove has been “trampling over institutional norms” and that he lacked impartiality.

Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats, in an unusual move, staged a walkout at a hearing on Bove before a recent vote to advance his nomination. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called him a “henchman,” a description Democrats have widely adopted for him.

“He’s the extreme of the extreme,” Schumer told reporters. “He’s not a jurist. He’s a Trumpian henchman. That seems to be the qualification for appointees these days.”

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Bove defended himself against critics during his confirmation hearing.

“I am not anybody’s henchman. I’m not an enforcer,” Bove said. “I’m a lawyer from a small town who never expected to be in an arena like this.”

Fox News’ Alex Miller contributed to this report.

The Senate confirmed President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention after his first choice struggled to gain support.

Susan Monarez, a longtime fixture in Washington who has taken on leadership positions in a number of government public health roles, was confirmed by the Senate on Tuesday, crossing yet another position off the lengthy and growing number of nominees awaiting confirmation.

Monarez was confirmed on a 51 to 47 party line vote.

SENATE CONFIRMS TRUMP PICK TO LEAD INDEPENDENT NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Across her roughly two-decade career in D.C., she has served as deputy director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health within the Department of Health and Human Services and in roles at the White House, including at the Office of Science and Technology Policy and the National Security Council.

She is the first CDC director to undergo the Senate confirmation process after a new law changed the requirement in 2023. Prior to her confirmation, Monarez had served as the acting director of the CDC since the beginning of this year.

But Monarez, who has a Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology, was not Trump’s first pick to lead the public health agency, which is tasked with protecting Americans from public health threats.

KEY TRUMP NOMINEES STALLED BY SENATE DEMS PUTS PRESSURE ON GOP LEADERS

Trump tapped Monarez in March shortly after withdrawing his nomination of Dr. David Weldon, a former House member, after it was clear that he couldn’t get enough votes from Senate Republicans to make it across the finish line.

He lauded Monarez’s credentials, and charged that Americans had “lost confidence” in the CDC.

“Dr. Monarez will work closely with our GREAT Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert Kennedy Jr,” he said on social media at the time. “Together, they will prioritize Accountability, High Standards, and Disease Prevention to finally address the Chronic Disease Epidemic and, MAKE AMERICA HEALTHY AGAIN!”

But questions also linger on how well Monarez and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. might work together.

During her confirmation hearing last month, Senate Democrats grilled Monarez over whether she agreed with Kennedy’s positions on vaccines. Kennedy has long been outspoken about his skepticism regarding vaccines, particularly COVID-19 vaccines.

‘ALL THE OPTIONS’: GOP EYES CUTTING AUGUST RECESS TO MOVE DOZENS OF TRUMP NOMINEES STALLED BY DEMS

The CDC has been hit with thousands of staff cuts and resignations and subject to changes in vaccine policy — notably Kennedy’s decision to remove the COVID-19 from the vaccine schedule for pregnant women and healthy children — in the last six months. 

“I think vaccines save lives. I think that we need to continue to support the promotion of utilization of vaccines,” Monarez said during her confirmation hearing.

Her confirmation also comes as Kennedy, in his budget request for the HHS, seeks a slash in funding to the CDC of nearly 50%, or from about $9.2 billion to $4.2 billion, for the upcoming fiscal year.

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But Kennedy made clear in an X post at the time of her nomination that he supports Monarez to take on the position.

“I handpicked Susan for this job because she is a longtime champion of MAHA values, and a caring, compassionate and brilliant microbiologist and a tech wizard who will reorient CDC toward public health and gold-standard science,” he said. “I’m so grateful to President Trump for making this appointment.”

And an HHS spokesperson told Fox News Digital, “Once Dr. Monarez is confirmed, the Secretary looks forward to working with her to advance common-sense policies that will Make America Healthy Again.”

An illegal alien convicted of a conspiracy to murder a teenager using a baseball bat in the Philadelphia area is among some of the “worst of the worst” criminal illegals arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement across the country in recent weeks, according to the agency.

A statement by ICE says that Bou Khathavong, an illegal alien and dual citizen of Laos and Thailand, was arrested on July 25 by officials from ICE Philadelphia. According to ICE, Khathavong has previously been convicted of conspiracy to murder a teenager with a baseball bat in in Pennnsylvania.

Another statement by the Department of Homeland Security released on Tuesday highlighted other “worst of the worst” illegal aliens arrested in recent weeks, including several pedophiles, drug traffickers and individuals convicted of cruelty and neglect of a child and involvement in a hit-and-run that resulted in death.

DHS said illegal alien Santiago Geovany Garcia-Rosales, a 35-year-old from Guatemala, was convicted of failure to stop and render aid involving a death in Harris County, Texas. He was arrested by ICE Houston on July 28, according to ICE.

ICE IN HOUSTON RELEASES NEW DETAILS ABOUT ARRESTED ILLEGAL CHILD SEX OFFENDERS

ICE also arrested Hector Bonaparte-Contreras, a 42-year-old criminal illegal alien from from Mexico, on July 24. Bonaparte-Contreras was convicted of predatory criminal sexual assault on a child less than 13 years old in Chicago. 

Another alien, Julio Armando Gomez-Fernandez, was arrested by ICE on July 27 in Dallas. Also an illegal from Mexico, Gomez-Fernandez was previously convicted in Colorado of meth possession with intent to distribute as well as unlawful re-entry.

Manuel Loja, a criminal alien and sex offender from Ecuador, was arrested by ICE Newark on July 24. Loja has been convicted of cruelty and neglect of children in New Jersey.

DANGER REMAINS, DESPITE TRUMP SECURING BORDER: AZ REPUBLICANS

DHS pointed out in its release that 70% of ICE arrests include illegal aliens with either criminal convictions or pending charges.

The statement said that “under the leadership of President Trump and Secretary Noem, DHS is delivering on its promise to prioritize the American people over illegal aliens and criminal protection policies, removing these public safety threats from American communities.”

DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin also commented on the arrests, blaming the Biden administration for having “allowed dangerous criminals to pour into our country.”

ALLEGED ‘SERIAL CRIMINAL’ NABBED IN MICHIGAN TRAFFIC BUST AFTER BIDEN ADMINISTRATION RELEASED HIM INTO US

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“President Trump and Secretary Noem unleashed ICE to arrest these criminal illegal aliens,” said McLaughlin, adding, “From pedophiles to drug traffickers, ICE is prioritizing arresting the worst of the worst. We will not allow criminal illegals to terrorize American communities.” 

Elon Musk’s talk of a third political party is an idea supported by more than half of voters in the latest Fox News national survey – as long as that party isn’t linked to the billionaire.

By an 11-point margin, more voters think it is a good idea rather than a bad one for there to be a third major party (53% vs. 42%). That’s down from a 27-point spread in 2010, the most recent time Fox asked the question.

Independents – by a 44-point margin and Democrats – by 20 points say a third party is a good idea while Republicans think it’s a bad one by 9 points.  

FOX NEWS POLL: SUPPORT FOR DEPORTATION DEPENDS ON WHO IS BEING TARGETED

The decline from 2010 is mostly because of a 22-point shift among Republicans, who were 13 points more likely to say it was a good idea (50%) than a bad one (37%) 15 years ago.

“In 2010, anger and disappointment with both parties among some Republicans and independents fueled the tea party movement,” says Republican pollster Daron Shaw, who helps conduct the Fox News survey with Democrat Chris Anderson. “This time around the disappointment and anger is coming from the Democrats.”

Voters draw the line, however, at a third party led by Musk.

Most, 75%, say they are “not very” or “not at all” open to supporting a party created by the billionaire, while 22% say they are “extremely” or “very” open to it.

Those most likely to back a Musk political party are men (31% extremely/very open), especially Republican men (41%), men under age 45 (38%), and White men without a college degree (36%).

Independents (32% extremely/very open) and Republicans (31%) are roughly 20 points more likely than Democrats (11%) to support a Musk-run party.

FOX NEWS POLL: THE GOP IS SEEN AS MORE LIKELY TO HAVE A CLEAR PLAN FOR THE COUNTRY

Some support for a third major party comes from voter dissatisfaction with both major parties, as 64% think the Democratic Party lacks a clear plan for dealing with the problems facing the country and 54% say the same about the GOP.

The survey also asks voters to respond to a series of agree-disagree statements about third parties and finds they are equally likely to view them positively as negatively.

For example, 6 in 10 voters agree third parties are desperately needed because the Democratic and Republican parties are failing to address voter concerns (61% agree), while another 6 in 10 think third-party candidates are just spoilers that distract from the two major parties (59%).

Democrats (59% agree) and Republicans (66%) are more likely to agree third-party candidates are spoilers while independents feel the opposite (60% disagree). Majorities of independents (76% agree) and Democrats (67%) are in alignment on needing a new party, whereas Republicans are split (49% agree third parties are needed, 50% do not).

About 4 voters in 10 feel third-party candidates tend to be less qualified than those from the two major parties (54% disagree). More Republicans (51% agree) than Democrats (41%) and independents (33%) think a third party is not suitable to run.

Voters are more decisive when asked if the U.S. political system is rigged against third parties as 70% feel it is, including most Democrats (73%), Republicans (66%), and independents (76%).

“The survey shows the dilemma for third parties in the U.S.,” says Shaw. “Voters want another choice, but don’t particularly like the options they’ve seen and are reluctant to back candidates they think are doomed.”

CLICK HERE FOR CROSSTABS AND TOPLINE

Conducted July 18-21, 2025, under the direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News survey includes interviews with a sample of 1,000 registered voters randomly selected from a national voter file. Respondents spoke with live interviewers on landlines (114) and cellphones (636) or completed the survey online after receiving a text (250). Results based on the full sample have a margin of sampling error of ±3 percentage points. Sampling error for results among subgroups is higher.  In addition to sampling error, question wording and order can influence results. Weights are generally applied to age, race, education, and area variables to ensure the demographics of respondents are representative of the registered voter population. Sources for developing weight targets include the American Community Survey, Fox News Voter Analysis and voter file data.

EXCLUSIVE: The Department of Homeland Security is launching a major recruitment campaign as the agency seeks to grow amid mass deportation efforts and new funding from the Trump-backed congressional spending bill.

The funding in the spending bill, dubbed the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” provides funding to hire 10,000 new ICE agents. DHS is launching the “Defend the Homeland” campaign featuring posters depicting prominent figures, including President Donald Trump, Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.

“The Biden Administration let in the WORST OF THE WORST from around the world. Thanks to President Trump, ICE is now empowered to go-after these heinous individuals—arrest them and deport them. My message to law enforcement is this: We will never abandon you and we are doing everything we can to keep you safe,” Noem stated.

TRUMP SUGGESTS BORDER CRACKDOWN IS ‘SAVING A LOT OF MONEY’ AFTER STARK DROP FROM BIDEN ERA CROSSINGS

In addition, the ICE “America Needs You” web page features imagery of Uncle Sam, and says, “Your country is calling upon you to serve.”

The website touts three key roles: deportation officer, criminal investigator and general attorney, but there are a variety of listings on the federal government’s job site that it links back to.

The agency is touting $50,000 signing bonuses, student loan relief, law enforcement availability pay of 25% for Homeland Security Investigations Special Agents, “administratively uncontrollable overtime” for ICE deportation officers, and retirement benefits. Applicants must be at least 21 years old, with varying age maximums for certain positions.

ASSAULTS ON ICE OFFICERS SURGE 830% AS DEMOCRATS CAUGHT ‘DOXING AND PHYSICALLY ASSAULTING’ AGENTS: DHS

“Your country is calling on you to serve at ICE and defend the Homeland,” Lyons said in a statement. “In the wake of the Biden administration’s open border policies, the dedicated men and women of ICE now face unprecedented challenges in removing millions of criminal illegal aliens from our country. Thanks to the One Big Beautiful Bill, we now have funding to recruit and hire Americans who want to patriotically serve their country and protect American communities.”

CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE

“Under President Trump and Secretary Noem’s leadership, ICE is finally empowered to do their jobs again. Join ICE today and help us defend the Homeland,” he continued.

The recruitment effort comes as the agency continues to amp up operations to counter illegal immigration, including deporting those with criminal convictions and charges on top of entering the country illegally. 

WATCH: LAWMAKERS BREAK DOWN HOW BILLIONS IN THE ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ BOOST TRUMP’S IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN

According to DHS, there’s been an 830% increase in assaults on agents amid riots and protests throughout the country, including last month in the Los Angeles area.

On the recruitment web page, the agency has “How dangerous is the work?” listed as a frequently asked question.

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“ICE law enforcement officers should expect a certain level of risk when performing their duties; however, they are expertly trained and every precaution is taken by ICE when it comes to protecting its officers’ well-being,” the website states.

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…

-China may gain greater control of Panama Canal after BlackRock deal misses deadline

-Trump backs NYPD after gunman kills off-duty officer in Manhattan office tower shooting

-Michigan Dems seek to prosecute mask-wearing ICE, after state instituted $500 fine for being maskless during COVID

RFK Jr. Pulls Millions from Duke Health Amid DEI Concerns

FIRST ON FOX: Duke Health, the medical arm of Duke University in North Carolina, is seeing more than $100 million in federal funding frozen in compliance with President Donald Trump‘s executive order prohibiting DEI practices.

In a letter to Duke President Vincent Price, Chairman of the Board of Trustees Adam Silver and School of Medicine Dean Mary Klotman, Secretaries Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and Linda McMahon outlined that racial preferences in hiring, student admissions, governance and patient care “betray” the mission of American health care and “endanger human lives.”

“The United States invests in medical care and research because of the sacredness of human life and value of human health,” the letter read. 

“There is arguably no other area of our educational system where the rejection of merit is more dangerous than in medicine, where the competence of doctors means the difference between life and death for patients, and where scientific discovery is the difference between life-saving cures and the ravages of disease.”…READ MORE.

White House

‘PUT OUT FIRES’: Trump boasts he ‘stopped about five wars’ while opening new Scotland golf course, vows to work with Netanyahu

‘OUGHT TO PAY’: Vance warns of ‘penalty’ for Dems who opposed the ‘big, beautiful, bill’ ahead of 2026 midterms

World Stage

NUCLEAR RED LINE: North Korea breaks silence on Trump’s return, sends message from ‘Rocket Man’

POLICE STATE: Farage torches UK minister over ‘disgusting’ predator jab in free speech clash

HUNGER POLITICS: Gaza Humanitarian Foundation: What to know about the US-backed aid group

‘THE ONLY WAY’: Ex-Israeli official offers bold 2-pronged strategy as ‘the only way’ to free hostages from Hamas

Capitol Hill

EYES PEELED: In the wake of Manhattan mass shooting, NYC lawmaker urges New Yorkers to remain ‘vigilant’

‘LIVING IN FEAR’: Mamdani’s rise, ‘vile hatred’ of US Jews the focus of ‘critical’ closed-door congressional huddle

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT: Fetterman cheers ICE arrests of illegal alien child sex offenders, Luna calls for death penalty

Across America 

‘RACIST’: Mamdani’s past ‘defund the police’ stance resurfaces after deadly Manhattan shooting

‘CAT-AND-MOUSE’: Ghislaine Maxwell threatens to dodge Epstein questions unless demands are met

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

United States Customs and Border Patrol caught an alleged Tren de Aragua gang member during a traffic stop near Detroit Wednesday.

The traffic stop in Shelby Township by Maryville Station CBP officers was triggered by a fake license plate on a vehicle. CBP said the three people inside the car were all in the United States illegally, and one of them is Venezulean national Manuel Zavala-Lopez, an alleged Tren de Aragua gang member who entered the country during the Biden administration in May 2023 and was released, according to DHS. 

The group was named a foreign terrorist organization early on during President Donald Trump’s second term, along with MS-13. Some of those alleged members have been sent to the Terrorism Confinement Center in El Salvador for detention.

FBI TAKES DOWN ANTI-TREN GANG MEMBERS IN LARGEST BUST YET IN VIOLENT MIGRANT TURF WAR

“Zavala-Lopez is a serial criminal who’s traveled across the U.S. committing violent crimes. He has an outstanding warrant for failure to appear on a felony assault charge in Denver, Colorado. He has also been charged with robbery resulting in physical injury, criminal possession of a weapon intent to use, assault, possession of stolen property and petty larceny in New York,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. 

“Thanks to our brave law enforcement, he is off the streets and will no longer be able to terrorize American citizens. He will remain in ICE custody pending removal.”

“The arrest of this Tren de Aragua gang member, who has a history of firearms and other criminal charges and was wanted on an active warrant out of Denver, Colorado, for failure to appear, removes another dangerous criminal illegal alien from our country and enhances public safety,” Detroit Sector Chief Patrol Agent John R. Morris said in a statement.

“This marks the second arrest of a gang member from a foreign terrorist organization this month and underscores the relentless efforts of our agents and law enforcement partners. These cases highlight the critical value of interagency cooperation in removing these criminal threats from our communities,” Morris added.

The 30-year-old, who is not named but had his mugshot disclosed by the agency, was previously charged with violent robbery as well as weapons and immigration violations, according to a news release.

“This Tren de Aragua gang member, who had no business being in our country, let alone roaming the streets of Shelby Township, serves as our department’s commitment to keeping our community safe and getting dangerous individuals like this out of our community,” Lt. Mark Benedettini of the Shelby Township Police Department told Fox News Digital in an email.

TRUMP’S CRACKDOWN NETS OVER 2,700 ALLEGED MEMBERS OF NOTORIOUS VENEZUELAN GANG

Traffic stops are considered a major aspect of border and immigration enforcement, and people and drugs are often caught as a result. 

Two Salvadoran nationals in the country illegally were also arrested by CBP in Detroit earlier this month, the agency announced July 10. 

CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE

Border Patrol agents responded after a call for extra help during an “altercation” at a motel in Sterling Heights.

One of the men “admitted” to being a member of MS-13 and said he previously served 20 years behind bars in the Central American country for killing someone from a rival gang.

VENEZUELAN GANG SUSPECT IN US ILLEGALLY ALLEGEDLY ATTEMPTS TO MURDER FEDERAL AGENT DURING ARREST

“This is a major win for the U.S. Border Patrol and the safety of our communities,” Detroit Sector Acting Chief Patrol Agent Javier Geronimo Jr. said in a statement at the time. 

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“This arrest is a clear example of how agents and our law enforcement partners are protecting our towns by removing violent criminals from our country.”

The comparisons between Omar Fateh and Zohran Mamdani are easy to draw.

Mamdani, the 33-year-old Ugandan-born state assemblyman from New York City, stunned the nation’s political world a month ago by coming from behind to convincingly win the Democratic Party mayoral nomination in the nation’s most populous city.

And with his victory over former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and nine other candidates, Mamdani took a big step toward becoming New York City’s first Muslim and first millennial mayor.

Fateh, like Mamdani, is a democratic socialist and a Muslim. And at age 35, he’s also a member of Generation Y.

DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST DUBBED THE MIDWEST MAMDANI SCORES MAJOR ENDORSEMENT IN BID FOR MINNEAPOLIS MAYOR

And similar to Mamdani, he topped an establishment Democrat to earn a crucial endorsement as he bids for Minneapolis mayor.

“From NYC to Minneapolis — change is coming!” the Twin Cities chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America touted a week and a half ago after Fateh landed the endorsement of the Minneapolis chapter of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, which is the name of the Democratic Party in Minnesota.

POTUS PUNDITRY: TRUMP WEIGHS IN ON MAMDANI-CUOMO NYC MAYORAL FACEOFF

Fateh landed the endorsement over incumbent Mayor Jacob Frey, who is running for a third term. But Frey, who has repeatedly faced off during his tenure with a left-leaning city council in the heavily blue city, remains on the ballot, and will face off with Fateh in November’s election.

And similar to New York City, Minneapolis will use ranked choice voting to determine its next mayor.

“This endorsement is a message that Minneapolis residents are done with broken promises, vetoes, and politics as usual. It’s a mandate to build a city that works for all of us,” Fateh said, in a jab at Frey.

But Frey highlighted that “this election should be decided by our entire city, not by a handful of delegates. I look forward to a full debate with Sen. Fateh about our records and visions for our Minneapolis’s future. Onward to November!”

Fateh, similar to Mamdani, is offering voters what can be characterized as a far-left agenda. 

In New York City, Mamdani is pushing proposals to eliminate 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.

RNC CHAIR ARGUES MAMDANI ‘FACE OF THE NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY’

Fateh, the son of immigrant parents from Somalia who five years ago became the first Somali-American elected to the Minnesota Senate, pledges if elected mayor to raise the city’s minimum wage, increase the supply of affordable housing, and combat what he calls police violence. Similar to Mamdani, Fateh calls for replacing some of the police department’s duties with community-led alternatives. He also wants to issue legal IDs to undocumented immigrants.

Larry Jacobs, a public affairs professor at the University of Minnesota, pointed to the numerous parallels between Mamdani and Fateh.

But he noted that “the big difference is in Minneapolis you have a two-term mayor who’s probably still the favorite to win.”

Jacobs highlighted that the Democratic Party is going through “post election blues.” He pointed to a “genuine division on the direction of the party and that division in part is between a younger socialist element… and a more moderate version of the party that has relations with business and pulls back on change that’s disruptive.”

Republicans have been relentless in taking aim at Mamdani and his far-left proposals. They are repeatedly trying to make him the face of the Democratic Party while also attempting to anchor him to vulnerable Democrats up for re-election in next year’s midterms.

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While not grabbing the kind of media frenzy that surrounds Mamdani, Republicans and conservatives have started targeting Fateh.

Among them is Charlie Kirk—the conservative host and MAGA-world rockstar who leads the influential Turning Point USA political youth organization. Kirk recently took aim at Fateh over his Muslim identity.

Vice President JD Vance said that anyone who opposed President Donald Trump‘s “one big, beautiful bill” should face consequences ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. 

The measure includes key provisions that would permanently establish individual and business tax breaks included in Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, and incorporates new tax deductions to cut duties on tips and overtime pay.

All Democrats, along with five Republicans in both the House and the Senate, voted against the massive tax and domestic policy bill. However, Trump signed it into law on July 4. 

“Anybody who voted against it, I think they ought to pay a penalty,” Vance said Monday in Canton, Ohio. “Because they voted against all those great things for the people of Akron and the people of Northeastern Ohio.”

TRUMP SIGNS ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL’ BILL IN SWEEPING VICTORY FOR SECOND TERM AGENDA, OVERCOMING DEMS AND GOP REBELS

“The craziest thing is if you’re a Democrat and you don’t like this legislation, then come and talk to us,” Vance said. “Make some proposed changes. Tell us ‘You know, this provision isn’t so good. We’d like to change it a little bit, and if we change it, then I can get to yes.’ This is the process of government. And these guys didn’t even come to the White House and try to make their concerns known. They didn’t try to make the legislation better. They just attack, attack, attack.” 

Vance then said he believed Democrats don’t care about grocery prices, whether employees receive a raise or not, or if Americans are even employed in the first place. 

“Their obsession in government is letting illegal aliens into this country, and attacking Donald J. Trump,” Vance said. “I don’t think the American people should reward that broken style of politics, and I don’t think they’re going to come November 2026.” 

Vance’s remarks come as he champions the “big, beautiful bill,” with Republicans looking to defend their slim House majority — and potentially pick up a few seats — in the high-stakes 2026 midterm elections.

JD VANCE POISED TO CLINCH VICTORY FOR TRUMP’S LANDMARK BILL AS GOP FINALIZES STRATEGY

Vance visited Pennsylvania’s 8th District on July 16, when he praised the measure and offered support for the district’s Republican representative, Rep. Rob Bresnahan, who was elected in 2024 and is in a vulnerable seat. 

Vance is also slated to speak at fundraisers for the Republican National Committee on Tuesday in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and Big Sky, Montana, Axios first reported. 

Among those who voted against the “big, beautiful bill” in Ohio was Rep. Emilia Sykes, who represents Canton, where Vance spoke on Monday. Sykes is in a vulnerable district as well and barely secured a victory over her opponent in the 2024 election by 2.2 percentage points, according to The New York Times. 

A spokesperson for Vance doubled down on the vice president’s remarks on Monday and pointed to a new Wall Street Journal poll released on Friday that found that 63% of voters hold a negative view towards Democrats, and only 33% hold a favorable one – a new low since 1990. 

TAX CUTS, WORK REQUIREMENTS AND ASYLUM FEES: HERE’S WHAT’S INSIDE THE SENATE’S VERSION OF TRUMP’S BILL

“The Democrats just hit their lowest approval rating in 35 years, and all they can do is distract voters from the enormous wins the Trump administration is racking up,” a Vance spokesperson said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Voters are sick of Democrat politicians constantly blowing hot air. Meanwhile, the vice president is visiting contested House districts around the country selling the substantive provisions in the president’s landmark One Big Beautiful Bill.”

A Fox News poll released this month revealed that a majority of voters oppose the “big, beautiful bill.” The poll, which was conducted between July 18 and 21, found that 58% of all registered voters oppose the measure, while 39% approve of it. 

FOX NEWS POLL: TRUMP FACING HEADWINDS AT SIX-MONTH MARK

No Democrats got on board backing the “big, beautiful bill,” joined by Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, and Rand Paul of Kentucky and Republican Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania. 

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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., labeled the bill “cruel” during floor remarks that lasted hours on July 3, pointing to Medicaid and SNAP reforms that reports suggest would remove millions of beneficiaries from the programs. 

“What is contemplated in this one big, ugly bill is wrong. It’s dangerous, and it’s cruel, and cruelty should not be either the objective or the outcome of legislation that we consider here in the United States House of Representatives,” Jeffries said.

A Michigan Democratic effort would open up ICE agents to state prosecution if they conduct immigration enforcement operations while wearing masks that conceal their identity.

The effort comes five years after Michigan Democrats supported Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s order outlining $500 fines for civilians who, conversely, defied her executive order to wear masks in public during the coronavirus pandemic.

The bill’s sponsor, state Rep. Betsy Coffia, D-Traverse City, said Friday ICE’s masking-up “mirror the tactics of secret police in authoritarian regimes and strays from the norms that define legitimate local law enforcement.”

“It confuses and frightens communities,” she said. “Those who protect and serve our community should not do so behind a concealed identity.”

DHS FIRES BACK AT DEMOCRATS FOR ‘BEYOND THE PALE’ RHETORIC AS ICE AGENTS FACE WAVE OF VIOLENT THREATS

A banner on the dais from which Coffia announced the bill read, “Justice needs no masks.”

State Rep. Noah Arbit, D-West Bloomfield, added his name as a co-sponsor and said in a statement when a person is unable to discern whether someone apprehending them is a government authority or not, it “shreds the rule of law.”

“That is why the Trump administration and the Republican Party are the most pro-crime administration and political party that we have ever seen,” Arbit said.

Attorney General Dana Nessel, who was one of several state prosecutors to demand Congress pass similar legislation at the federal level, also threw her support behind the bill.

“Imagine a set of circumstances where somebody might be a witness to a serious crime and that defendant has some friends go out and literally just mask up and go apprehend somebody at a courthouse,” Nessel told the Traverse City NBC affiliate.

However, during the coronavirus pandemic, Whitmer issued an executive order in June 2020 that mandated people “wear a face covering whenever they are in an indoor public space.”

FIVE YEARS AFTER COVID LOCKDOWNS: THE FIVE MOST BIZARRE STOP THE SPREAD MOMENTS

“It also requires the use of face coverings in crowded outdoor spaces. Most significantly, the order requires any business that is open to the public to refuse entry or service to people who refuse to wear a face covering. No shirts, no shoes, no mask—no service,” the order read.

Violators who refused to wear masks in such situations, excluding houses of worship, were subject to $500 penalties, according to WXYZ.

Nessel, at the time, had praised the Michigan Claims Court for acting quickly to clarify the legality of Whitmer’s prior executive orders related to COVID-19, including the stay-at-home edict.

“With this clarity, it’s my hope that our public officials and residents can move forward with confidence that the Governor has acted in accordance with the authority provided to her under the Emergency Powers of the Governor Act,” she said in a statement.

“It’s time for us all to focus on the health and safety of the people in this state rather than fighting against each other in unnecessary legal battles in our courts.” 

Nessel also lent her name to an amicus brief this month supporting a case brought against ICE over tactics used during its raids in Los Angeles.

“When masked, heavily armed federal agents operate with no identification, they threaten public safety and erode public trust,” Nessel said in the brief.

Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall, R-Kalamazoo, told Fox News Digital he doesn’t see Coffia’s bill making it to Whitmer’s desk, calling it an “attack on law enforcement.”

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“The people want these dangerous criminal aliens off our street, and we are doing everything we can to partner with the Trump administration and put an end to illegal immigration,” he said Monday, adding that Democrats “will do everything they can to get in the way of local police and ICE because they’ve always cared more about criminals than victims.

“But that ends here,” he added. “This ridiculous bill is dead on arrival.”

When asked about the bill and the apparent COVID-related hypocrisy, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said it shows “power-hungry politicians” are continuing to “push disgusting smears against our brave officers, who are simply enforcing the law, in a repulsive effort to score cheap political points.”

“State Rep. Coffia has clearly never been on an ICE operation because she would see our officers verbally identify themselves, wear vests that say ICE/ERO or Homeland Security, and are flanked by vehicles that also say the name of the department.”

McLaughlin said the masks are vital to prevent officers from being targeted by “highly sophisticated gangs” like Tren de Aragua and MS-13.

“These arguments are getting a little desperate,” she said.

Fox News Digital reached out to Nessel, Whitmer and Coffia for further comment.

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., expressed support for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s apprehension of illegal alien child sex offenders, while Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., advocated for the individuals to face the death penalty. 

ICE noted in a Monday press release that it “arrested 214 illegal aliens for immigration offenses in the Houston area in the past six months who have been charged or convicted of a sex offense involving a minor.”

“I don’t support or agree with all of ICE’s tactics or actions. I do fully support moves like these. This makes our nation more secure and all our children safer,” Fetterman said in a post on X.

ICE ARRESTS OVER 200 ILLEGAL ALIEN CHILD SEX OFFENDERS IN HOUSTON AREA IN PAST 6 MONTHS

Responding to the news about the ICE arrests, Luna said in a post on X, “Skip deportation. Go directly to the death penalty. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200.” 

According to the ICE press release, one of the individuals arrested was “Jose Guadalupe Meza, a 40-year-old, four-time deported criminal alien from Mexico who was arrested June 24 and has been convicted of theft and sexual assault of a child. ICE removed Guadalupe Meza to Mexico June 25.”

GISELE FETTERMAN ADMITS SHE ‘WOULDN’T BE SUPPORTIVE’ OF HER HUSBAND JOHN RUNNING FOR HIGHER OFFICE

The news comes amid the Trump administration’s crackdown on border and immigration enforcement.

Fetterman has previously expressed support for ICE’s work, describing any calls for the abolition of the agency as “inappropriate” as well as “outrageous.”

DEMOCRAT JOHN FETTERMAN DECLARES SUPPORT FOR ICE, CONDEMNING ANY CALLS FOR ABOLITION AS ‘OUTRAGEOUS’

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“Bringing together the resources and expertise of the entire federal law enforcement community to confront the overwhelming surge of illegal immigration that we saw over the past four years has resulted in the arrest and removal of historic numbers of violent criminal aliens, transnational gang members and child sex offenders,” ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Houston acting field office director Paul McBride noted, according to the press release.

President Donald Trump voiced support for law enforcement agencies and said he has full faith in their ability to determine why a “crazed lunatic” opened fire in a Manhattan office tower on Monday that killed a New York City Police Department officer. 

“I have been briefed on the tragic shooting that took place in Manhattan, a place that I know and love,” Trump said in a social media post on Tuesday. “I trust our Law Enforcement Agencies to get to the bottom of why this crazed lunatic committed such a senseless act of violence. My heart is with the families of the four people who were killed, including the NYPD Officer, who made the ultimate sacrifice. God Bless the New York Police Department, and God Bless New York!” 

NYC GUNMAN APPEARED TO HAVE GRIEVANCE AGAINST NFL, WENT TO WRONG ELEVATOR BANK IN DEADLY RAMPAGE, MAYOR SAYS

Authorities identified the gunman as Shane Tamura of Las Vegas, who died from a self-inflicted gun wound. 

A total of four other people were killed in the shooting, including New York Police Department Officer Didarul Islam, 36. Islam had been on the force for three-and-a-half years and is survived by his pregnant wife and two children. 

“He was doing the job that we asked him to do. He put himself in harm’s way. He made the ultimate sacrifice,” Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a news conference on Monday. “He died as he lived. A hero.”

NFL’S ROGER GOODELL PRAISES NYPD OFFICER WHO WAS KILLED IN NYC SHOOTING

New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced on Tuesday that flags across the city would be lowered to half-staff to honor Islam. 

“As a mark of respect for the memory of NYPD Officer Didarul Islam who died in the line of duty and the multiple victims of the mass shooting in Midtown Manhattan at 345 Park Avenue yesterday, I’ve ordered all flags on all city buildings and stationary flagstaffs throughout the five boroughs to be lowered to half-staff until further notice.” 

“Officer Didarul Islam died as he lived, a hero and protector of New York City. We will never forget you,” Adams wrote in another post on X.

ACTIVE SHOOTER REPORT PROMPTS MASSIVE POLICE RESPONSE IN MIDTOWN MANHATTAN BUSINESS DISTRICT

Fox News’ Greg Norman and Christina Shaw contributed to this report. 

President Donald Trump touted his foreign policy achievements while visiting his newest Scottish golf course on Tuesday, a day after appearing to break with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s stance on food supply to Gaza. 

The president appeared before reporters at Trump International Golf Links near Aberdeen, Scotland, where he and his sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, opened a new golf course on Tuesday. 

“I look forward to playing it today. We’ll play it very quickly. And then I go back to D.C., and we put out fires all over the world,” Trump said before cutting the ribbon opening the new course in the village of Balmedie on Scotland’s northern coast.

“We did one yesterday. You know, we stopped the war, but we stopped about five wars,” Trump said. “So that’s much more important than playing golf. As much as I like, it’s much more important.” 

“It’s going to be a special year, and it’s going to be a special decade. And we’re going to make all of our countries strong and great and really wonderful again,” Trump added. “And that’s happening, and it’s happening very fast.” 

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Amid U.S. pressure, Thailand and Cambodia reached a ceasefire agreement. The Trump administration has also claimed responsibility for stopping a nuclear escalation between India and Pakistan, averting conflict between Serbia and Kosovo and diffusing violence between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Central Africa. Earlier this year, Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen agreed to a ceasefire following U.S.-U.K. strikes. 

In late June, Trump ordered U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities and infrastructure, which he claimed ended the Israel-Iran conflict in just 12 days, preventing greater loss of life. 

Meanwhile, the U.S. and Israel pulled their negotiators from ceasefire talks in Doha, Qatar, last week. Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, said Hamas did not appear to be “coordinated or acting in good faith” to reach an agreement to return the remaining hostages taken in the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel or to “create a more stable environment for the people of Gaza.” 

As the opening ceremony closed Tuesday, a reporter shouted a question at Trump, asking what the president would say next to Netanyahu.

“We’re working together to try to get things straightened out for the world,” Trump said. 

Trump on Monday held a bilateral meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at another of his golf courses, Trump Turnberry in Girvan, Scotland. When reporters asked if he agreed with Netanyahu’s recent remarks about concerns of mass starvation in Gaza being overstated, he replied, “I don’t know. I mean, based on television, I would say not particularly, because those children look very hungry.”

Trump has also insisted the U.S. did not receive enough credit for the aid already provided to Gaza, which Hamas terrorists control. 

The president is capping a five-day foreign trip designed around promoting his family’s luxury properties and playing golf. 

TRUMP PRAISES STARMER ON TURNING AROUND MIGRANT BOATS: ‘FANTASTIC THING’

Trump used his trip to meet with Starmer and reach a trade framework for tariffs between the U.S. and the European Union’s 27 member countries – though scores of key details remain to be hammered out.

“We just signed a very big deal, as you know, with the European Union, but also with the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom was a week before, and it’s a very big deal and a great deal for the country. And it’s a great deal for everybody,” Trump said Tuesday. 

Trump had invited Starmer, who famously does not golf, aboard Air Force One so that the prime minister could get a private tour of his Aberdeen properties before Tuesday’s ceremonial opening.

Billing itself the “Greatest 36 Holes in Golf,” the Trump International Golf Links, Scotland, was designed by Eric Trump. The course is hosting a PGA Seniors Championship event later this week, after Trump leaves. 

“These are very hard to build, and you won’t see them built anymore. You’ll probably never see another course built in the dunes, not dunes like this,” Trump said of the course on Tuesday. 

The new golf course will be the third owned by the Trump Organization in Scotland. Trump bought Turnberry in 2014 and owns another course near Aberdeen that opened in 2012.

Trump honored Sarah Malone, the Executive Vice President of Trump International Golf Links Scotland, during Tuesday’s opening ceremony. Eric Trump said Malone “has truly become a member of our family” after 16 years overseeing the properties. 

The president’s late mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, was born on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland’s north and immigrated to New York. She died in 2000 at age 88.

“We love Scotland. You know, my mother was born here and she loved it. She would come back here religiously once a year during the summers with my sister Marianne, and sometimes my sister Elizabeth. But they would come here religiously,” Trump said Tuesday. “Stornoway. That’s serious Scotland, by the way.” 

The president also thanked his daughter-in-law Lara Trump, who was on the new course with him Tuesday, for the work she did leading the Republican Party during the 2024 presidential election. 

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Trump’s assets are in a trust, and his sons are running the family business while he is in the White House. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

China may soon gain greater influence over the Panama Canal following the collapse of a proposed deal between U.S.-based BlackRock and Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison, which had initially sparked tensions with Beijing.

The original agreement would have transferred control of dozens of international ports — including two in Panama — to a consortium involving BlackRock. The deal was reportedly welcomed by former President Donald Trump, who voiced support for reducing Chinese influence over the canal and even floated the idea of the U.S. “taking back” the strategic waterway.

However, Beijing pushed back. China advocated for state-owned shipping giant Cosco to be included in the transaction, signaling its desire for a direct stake, not just an indirect one through the Hong Kong-based Hutchison, in the canal’s operations.

Amid mounting pressure from China and the threat of an anti-monopoly investigation, CK Hutchison announced Monday that the exclusive negotiation window with BlackRock had expired. However, the company also signaled its openness to reconfiguring the deal.

CHINA, HONG KONG THREATEN TO THWART SALE OF PANAMA CANAL PORTS TO AMERICA’S BLACKROCK

It said it would “remain open to discussions with a view to inviting a major strategic investor from the [People’s Republic of China] to join as a significant member of the consortium.” According to the company, changes in deal structure and participant makeup are necessary to gain approval from “all relevant authorities.”

The original $23 billion deal involved transferring ownership of 43 ports across 23 countries — including the two critical Panamanian ports located at either end of the canal in Balboa and Cristobal. CK Hutchison has operated both since 1997. The firm is owned by the family of Hong Kong’s wealthiest man, Li Ka-shing.

China’s growing footprint in Latin American infrastructure has long raised bipartisan alarms in Washington. However, Trump stands out as the first modern U.S. president to suggest reclaiming the Panama Canal, which the U.S. completed in 1914 and handed over to Panama in 1999 under a treaty signed in 1977 during the Carter administration.

CHINA’S BILLION-DOLLAR FOOTPRINT NEAR FLORIDA COAST POSES US NATIONAL SECURITY RISK, EXPERT WARNS

“China is operating the Panama Canal, and we didn’t give it to China — we gave it to Panama — and we’re taking it back,” Trump recently declared.

One analyst believes China may ultimately be excluded from the Panama port holdings while gaining control of most other assets in the larger deal.

“China will insist this be the quid pro quo: that the other global ports have Cosco participation. And obviously, Cosco is already a major global port holder,” said Dane Chamorro, head of Global Risk Analysis at consulting firm Control Risks, in an interview with Fox News Digital.

“From a U.S. perspective, they might say, ‘Okay, great—we got Hutchison, or China (since they tend to refer to them interchangeably), out of the two Panama ports.’ But in the long run, that may result in even more ports globally ending up in the hands of a Chinese state-owned entity.”

If that happens, Cosco — through this broader consolidation — would become “far and away the dominant port owner and operator globally,” Chamorro said. “That aligns with the fact that China is the world’s largest trading economy, the largest manufacturing economy, and the largest shipbuilder.”

Chamorro also noted that U.S. companies do not operate on the same global scale in the port industry as Chinese, Hong Kong or Singaporean firms.

The failed Hutchison-BlackRock deal underscores the precarious position of Hong Kong businesses under growing pressure from Beijing to prioritize national loyalty — even when it threatens ties with Western partners.

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Meanwhile, Panama insists it retains full sovereignty over the canal itself and maintains that Hutchison’s operation of the port facilities does not grant China any influence over canal operations.

Thailand and Cambodia reached a ceasefire deal “through trade,” President Donald Trump announced Monday, ending a burgeoning conflict that displaced 260,000 people. 

The declaration from Trump comes after he said over the weekend that he had spoken to the leaders of Cambodia and Thailand, urging a ceasefire, adding the U.S. would not get back to the “trading table” with the southeast Asian countries until fighting stops. 

The fighting began Thursday after a land mine explosion along the border wounded five Thai soldiers. Both sides blamed each other for starting the clashes that have killed at least 35 people and displaced more than 260,000 people on both sides. 

“Numerous people were killed and I was dealing with two countries that we get along with very well, very different countries from certain standpoints. They’ve been fighting for 500 years intermittently. And, we solved that war … we solved it through trade,” Trump told reporters during his trip to Scotland. 

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“I said, ‘I don’t want to trade with anybody that’s killing each other.’ So we just got that one solved. And I’m going to call the two prime ministers who I got along with very, very well and speak to them right after this meeting and congratulate them. But it was an honor to be involved in that. That was going to be a very nasty war. Those wars have been very, very nasty,” Trump also said. 

“By ending this War, we have saved thousands of lives. I have instructed my Trade Team to restart negotiations on Trade. I have now ended many Wars in just six months — I am proud to be the President of PEACE!” Trump added in a post on Truth Social.

As part of the ceasefire deal, military commanders from both sides will begin to hold talks Tuesday to defuse tensions while Cambodia will host a border committee meeting on Aug. 4, according to Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. 

He added that the foreign and defense ministers of Malaysia, Cambodia and Thailand have also been instructed to “develop a detailed mechanism” to implement and monitor the ceasefire to ensure sustained peace. 

TRUMP CALLS FOR IMMEDIATE CEASEFIRE BETWEEN CAMBODIA AND THAILAND AMID ESCALATING VIOLENCE 

It is “time to start rebuilding trust, confidence and cooperation going forward between Thailand and Cambodia,” Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said during a press conference in Malaysia alongside Thai Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai. 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote on X that the U.S. “applauds the ceasefire declaration between Cambodia and Thailand announced today in Kuala Lumpur.” 

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“President Trump made this happen. Give him the Nobel Peace Prize!” added White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. 

Fox News’ Brie Stimson and the Associated Press contributed to this report. 

A major Pacific oil reserve offline for a decade was restarted in only five months of work by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, despite pleas from Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and completion of a reported laundry list of permitting and reviews.

The Interior Department’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) announced Friday it has shepherded the reopening of the Santa Ynez Unit of the Pacific oil-producing region, which holds an estimated 190 million barrels of recoverable potential.

“The Trump administration is restoring energy independence and unleashing the full potential of American offshore resources like never before,” an Interior Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital.

“Under the leadership of Secretary Doug Burgum, the Department of the Interior has taken decisive action to cut through red tape and streamline permitting processes that had stalled the development of Sable’s offshore energy resources for years.”

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Santa Ynez has been off-limits since 2015, when an aging pipe broke and caused what NOAA said was 500 barrels of oil flowing into the ocean of the estimated 2,900 barrels released.

Houston-based Sable Energy purchased the site from ExxonMobil in 2024 and sought to reopen several platforms; the Trump administration has now obliged.

BSEE Deputy Director Kenneth Stevens said President Donald Trump made it clear U.S. energy should come from American resources and that the agency “helped bring oil back online safely and efficiently.”

“That’s what ‘energy dominance’ looks like: results, not delays,” he said, predicting three oil platforms to be online by the end of the year. The agency further described the move as going from zero energy in the Pacific for the past 10 years to near-full production in a matter of months.

‘HOMELAND WOULD’VE BEEN STOLEN’: AK NATIVES SOUND OFF ON BIDEN ENERGY BANS AS TRUMP OFFICIALS TOUR TUNDRA

Schiff, along with Rep. Salud Carbajal, D-Calif., has been vocally opposed to Santa Ynez reopening.

In March, they wrote to California Gov. Gavin Newsom saying how the region is “still reeling from the fires in Los Angeles.”

“In addition, we face threats from the Trump administration to expand oil drilling everywhere, including offshore California, and to gut federal policies and agencies that protect our environment and tackle the ongoing climate crisis. As we know all too well, fossil fuel-driven climate change is severely impacting California and setting the stage for unprecedented disasters like the one we just experienced in Los Angeles,” they said.

“The economic, environmental, and human costs in our state are immeasurable.”

A source familiar with the reopening process confirmed that Interior had to navigate a slew of permitting, environmental approvals and regulatory roadblocks from Sacramento.

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Schiff and Carbajal warned of the “corrosion-prone pipeline” and reminded Sacramento of the Refugio spill. They thanked Newsom for “standing up to the threat of new federal offshore oil leasing.”

In April, Carbajal introduced a bill to permanently ban offshore oil exploration in California on the Outer Continental Shelf.

“Santa Barbara knows firsthand how devastating oil spills can be on our marine ecosystems and coastline,” he said in a statement at the time, adding California’s “world-famous coastline [must be] protected for future generations to enjoy.”

In comments to Fox News Digital, Carbajal called Burgum’s move “deeply concerning development for Central Coast residents — many of whom vividly remember the devastating impacts of the 1969 Santa Barbara and 2015 Refugio oil spills, from oil-slicked beaches to the piles of dead marine wildlife.”

Time and time again, our community has experienced the acute dangers that come with Big Oil’s reckless extraction practices, which jeopardize our coastal ecosystems, public health, and outdoor recreation economy,” Carbajal said.

“And let’s be clear: if energy independence were truly the goal, the current administration would be investing in cleaner—and often more affordable—energy sources like solar and wind, not gutting their federal support. Restarting these rigs only enriches Big Oil, while sacrificing the Central Coast’s environmental and public health. I will continue working with state and local partners to fight back against efforts to expand offshore oil drilling on the Central Coast.

Senate Republicans have received marching orders from President Donald Trump to ram through his remaining nominees, but Democrats are slow-walking the process over some key nominations.

Some of the nominees giving Senate Democrats the most heartburn include Jeanine Pirro, Emil Bove, Mike Waltz and Paul Ingrassia, all of whom Trump tapped for key roles in his administration.

Most of them have all slowly moved through the process, but they are just a few of many other, less controversial figures that are being held up by delay tactics.

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There are now over 140 pending “civilian” nominations for positions across the gauntlet of federal agencies, ambassadorships and judgeships. While the Senate has moved at a blistering rate over the last six months to confirm nominees — they’ve clocked nearly 100 so far — Trump has called on Republicans to stay in town rather than leave Washington for a roughly month-long break.

Republicans are trying to hammer out a deal with Democrats to see that more low-hanging fruit nominees, like ambassadors, get the green light for a faster process on the Senate floor, and are willing to keep lawmakers in town over the weekend if their counterparts don’t relent.

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“Democrats want to get out of here for August recess, then fine, give us a certain amount of en blocs that we can go through with non-controversial nominees,” Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., said.

Bove, who currently works at the Justice Department but previously served as Trump’s personal attorney, has been a particular target for Democrats. Trump nominated him to serve a lifetime appointment to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and he is nearing the end of his confirmation process.

Democrats have accused Bove of being unfit for the role, and listed whistleblower allegations that he suggested the Trump administration could ignore judicial orders, among other sticking points, as reason enough to try to subvert his appointment to the bench.

“I have never advised a Department of Justice attorney to violate a court order,” Bove said during his confirmation hearing.

He’s also become a prime target of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and other Democrats, including Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, who staged a walkout in protest of his nomination during a recent hearing.

“He’s the extreme of the extreme,” Schumer said. “He’s not a jurist. He’s a Trumpian henchman. That seems to be the qualification for appointees these days.”

THUNE VOWS TO ‘GRIND DOWN’ DEMOCRATS AS TRUMP’S NOMINEES FACE ‘UNPRECEDENTED’ SENATE OBSTRUCTION

Pirro, a former Fox News host who was tapped to be the top federal prosecutor in D.C., has similarly faced resistance — Senate Democrats walked out of the same meeting discussing her and Bove’s nominations — but not near the degree that Bove has.  

Still, she was advanced out of committee on a party-line vote, coming another step closer to taking over the position she holds in the interim on a permanent basis.

Trump tapped Waltz to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, the last cabinet position to be filled by the administration.

Waltz stepped away from his original role as national security advisor following “Signalgate,” a highly publicized blunder that saw him add a journalist to a group chat on the messaging app Signal that included Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance and others discussing the plans and execution of a strike against Yemen. He also advanced out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

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Ingrassia’s nomination as special counsel, a position that would see him lead the government watchdog Office of the Special Counsel, was derailed last week when his name was pulled from a list of other nominees slated to have a hearing before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

Ingrassia has come under scrutiny for his connections with Nick Fuentes, a white nationalist, and his limited career as a lawyer — he graduated from law school three years ago.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Senate panel for comment on Ingrassia’s hearing cancellation.