NationalWatch

President Donald Trump blasted the European Union for not providing aid to Gaza on Sunday, adding that Israel must “make a decision” about how to handle the region with Hamas still holding hostages.

Trump made the comments while meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Scotland. He said that the U.S. has given millions in aid to Gazans, but claimed there has been no assistance from European countries.

“We gave $60 million two weeks ago for food for Gaza, and nobody acknowledged it. Nobody talks about it. And it makes you feel a little bad when you do that. And, you know, you have other countries not giving anything. None of the European countries, by the way, gave – I mean, nobody gave but us and nobody said, gee, thank you very much. And it would be nice to have at least a thank you.”

Trump went on to note that a deal needs to be made between Israel and Hamas to end the war and return the last remaining hostages to Israel, despite many of them being dead.

“But we have a lot of bodies, and the parents want those bodies as much as they would want their child if that child were alive,” Trump said of the hostages and their families.

NEWS OUTLETS ‘DESPERATELY CONCERNED’ FOR THEIR JOURNALISTS IN GAZA, URGE ISRAELI AUTHORITIES TO HELP

He suggested that Hamas is reluctant to make a deal for the final hostages because they feel it would be “the end for them” if they lose leverage against Israel.

“You know, they had a routine discussion the other day and all of a sudden they hardened up. They don’t want to give them back. And so Israel is going to have to make a decision,” Trump said.

The meeting comes as the IDF highlighted its efforts to deliver aid into Gaza after restricting the flow in recent months.

HAMAS LOSING IRON GRIP ON GAZA AS US-BACKED GROUP GETS AID TO PALESTINIANS IN NEED

Israel is now conducting airdrops for aid throughout the region, and the IDF says it conducted 28 drops in a matter of hours on Sunday.

“Let me be clear: Israel supports aid for civilians, not for Hamas. The IDF will continue to support the flow of humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza,” an IDF spokesperson said, claiming Israel transferred roughly 250 trucks full of aid into Gaza this week.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The IDF argues the reports about starvation in Gaza were a false campaign promoted by Hamas, but hunger is spreading across the region after the United Nations and the IDF previously failed to reach an agreement about aid distribution, Fox News’ Trey Yingst reported. 

President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a trade deal between the U.S. and European Union on Sunday.

The announcement came moments after the two had addressed the media, agreeing that the likelihood of an agreement was about 50-50. Von der Leyen said the negotiations had taken some “heavy lifting,” but the two leaders agreed they were happy with the result.

“We are agreeing that the tariff straight across for automobiles and everything else will be a straight-across tariff of 15%,” Trump said.

“So we have a tariff of 15%. We have the opening up of all of the European countries, which I think I could say were essentially closed. I mean, you weren’t exactly taking our orders. You weren’t exactly taking our agriculture,” he added, addressing von der Leyen.

TREASURY SECRETARY BESSENT DETAILS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S PLAN TO TACKLE CHINA’S ECONOMIC IMBALANCES

Von der Leyen said Europe will also purchase $150 billion worth of U.S. energy as part of the deal, in addition to making $600 billion in other investments into the U.S.

TRUMP HEADS TO SCOTLAND TO TALK GOLF, POLITICS AND TRADE

Trump and von der Leyen had sounded unsure of whether a deal would be reached even as they spoke to the press in Scotland on Sunday.

“We look forward to talking to see if we can do something,” Trump had said of the negotiations. “We’ve had, a very good relationship over the years, but it’s been a very one-sided transaction, very unfair to the United States.”

Responding to a reporter’s question, von der Leyen agreed with Trump that there must be a “rebalancing” of the bilateral trade, which is worth billions of dollars.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“It is about rebalancing,” von der Leyen said as she sat next to Trump. “You can call it fairness, you can call it rebalancing. We have a surplus and the United States has a deficit, and we have to rebalance it.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said Sunday that Jeffrey Epstein’s former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell deserves a life sentence, rejecting the idea of a potential pardon for the convicted sex trafficker.  

In an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Johnson was asked if he supported a pardon for Maxwell, but the speaker emphasized that the decision ultimately belongs to President Donald Trump. 

“I think 20 years was a pittance,” Johnson said of Maxwell’s time behind bars. “I think she should have a life sentence, at least. I mean, think of all these unspeakable crimes.” 

“I mean it’s hard to put into words how evil this was and that she orchestrated it and was a big part of it, at least under the criminal sanction, I think is an unforgivable thing,” Johnson added, acknowledging that federal prosecutors identified more than 1,000 victims, many of whom were underage. “So again, not my decision, but I have great pause about that as any reasonable person would.” 

GHISLAINE MAXWELL SUBPOENAED BY HOUSE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE AMID EPSTEIN FILES PUSH

While leaving the White House on Friday en route for Scotland, Trump was asked if he considered a pardon or clemency for Maxwell. The president left the door open, responding: “I’m allowed to do it, but it’s something I have not thought about.”

Johnson said he supports the position of the president, the FBI and the Justice Department that “all credible evidence and information” be released, but emphasized the need for safeguards to protect victims’ identities. As for Maxwell, she was questioned by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche at federal prison in Tallahassee, Florida, for two consecutive days last week. Her lawyer told reporters she answered questions on about 100 potential Epstein associates as she angles for clemency. 

“That’s a decision of the president,” Johnson said of a potential Maxwell pardon. “He said he had not adequately considered that. I won’t get in front of him. That’s not my lane. My lane is to help direct and control the House of Representatives and to use every tool within our arsenal to get to the truth. I’m going to say this as clearly and plainly and repeatedly as I can over and over. We are for maximum disclosure. We want all transparency. I trust the American people. I and the House Republicans believe that they should have all this information to be able to determine what they will. But we have to protect the innocent. And that’s the only safeguard here that we’ve got to be diligent about, and I’m insistent upon doing so.” 

JEFFREY EPSTEIN CASE REOPENS FOCUS ON GHISLAINE MAXWELL AS DEPUTY AG STEPS IN

Johnson criticized a petition for the release of all the Epstein files brought by Reps. Thomas Massie, R-W.Va., and Ro Khanna, D-Penn., as “reckless” and poorly drafted, arguing that it ignored federal rules protecting grand jury materials and “would require the DOJ and FBI to release information that they know is false, that is based on lies and rumors and was not even credible enough to be entered into the court proceedings.” 

The speaker said the petition also lacked safeguards for minor victims who were subjected to “unspeakable crimes, abject evil” and who risk being “unmasked.” Johnson said Massie and Khanna “cite that they don’t want child abuse, sex abuse information uncovered, but they cite the wrong provision of the federal code, and so it makes it unworkable.” The speaker argued Republicans on the House Rules Committee are committed to a better drafted approach that will protect the innocent. 

Asked about a potential pardon for Maxwell, Massie told NBC’s Kristen Welker earlier in the program that it “would be up to the president, but if she has information that could help us, I think that she should testify.” 

“Let’s get that out there, and whatever they need to do to compel that testimony, as long as it’s truthful, I would be in favor of,” Massie said. 

Khanna said he did not believe Maxwell’s sentence should be commuted and that he was concerned that Blanche was meeting with her. He said he agreed with Massie that Maxwell should testify but noted she has been indicted twice for perjury.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“This is why we need the files. This is why we need independent evidence,” Khanna said. 

The White House pulled the plug on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s use of polygraph tests to root out leakers, according to a report.

Patrick Weaver, a current adviser to Hegseth, alerted high-ranking administration officials that he could soon have to submit a polygraph test, the Washington Post reported. That prompted a call to Hegseth to drop the lie detector tests.

PENTAGON FREEZES OUT DC THINK TANKS IN NEW MOVE, CITING ‘AMERICA LAST’ CONCERNS

Weaver, who has previously held roles on the White House’s National Security Council and in the Department of Homeland Security during President Donald Trump’s first administration, took offense to the potential measure.

The investigation to identify leakers within the Department of Defense began in late March with a memo from Joe Kasper, then Hegseth’s chief of staff.

“Recent unauthorized disclosures of national security information involving sensitive communications with principals within the Office of the Secretary of Defense demand immediate and thorough investigation,” Kasper wrote in the March 21 memo.

SCOOP: TOP HEGSETH AIDE RESIGNS FROM PENTAGON AFTER 6 MONTHS OF SERVICE

“The use of polygraphs in the execution of this investigation will be in accordance with applicable law and policy,” Kasper added.

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

The revelation is the latest controversy at the Pentagon, which earlier this year endured the ‘Signalgate’ scandal. Discussions about military action between Hegseth and a group of top Trump officials were leaked, despite being conducted on the encrypted app.

Then-national security advisor Michael Waltz assumed “full responsibility” for the misstep of including the Atlantic’s editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg on the Signal chat alongside Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Hegseth.

NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR MIKE WALTZ TAKES RESPONSIBILITY FOR ‘EMBARRASSING’ SIGNAL CHAT LEAK

In the aftermath of the accidental leak to a journalist about impending U.S. military strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen, Trump has remained firmly in Hegseth’s corner, offering public support.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is hammering Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro on Sunday as the South American country holds municipal elections to fill hundreds of mayoral positions and thousands of council seats.

The municipal contests are happening one day before the one-year anniversary of Venezuela’s presidential election, which was widely condemned by the United States and other international observers as illegitimate. The Trump administration, meanwhile, has been escalating pressure against Maduro in recent days, as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Friday accused the foreign head of state of being the leader of an entity aiding terrorism against the U.S. 

“One year since dictator Nicolás Maduro defied the will of the Venezuelan people by baselessly declaring himself the winner, the United States remains firm in its unwavering support to Venezuela’s restoration of democratic order and justice,” Rubio said in a statement on Sunday. “Maduro is not the President of Venezuela and his regime is not the legitimate government.”

TRUMP FOE BOASBERG ORDERS DOJ TO DETAIL STATUS OF CECOT MIGRANTS SENT TO VENEZUELA

“Maduro is the leader of the designated narco-terrorist organization Cartel de Los Soles, and he is responsible for trafficking drugs into the United States and Europe,” Rubio continued. “Maduro, currently indicted by our nation, has corrupted Venezuela’s institutions to assist the cartel’s criminal narco-trafficking scheme into the United States.”

The Justice Department charged Maduro and 14 other former and current Venezuelan officials with narco-terrorism, corruption, drug trafficking and other criminal charges in March 2020. At the start of this year, 10 days before President Donald Trump returned to office, the State Department increased its reward for information leading to Maduro’s capture from $15 million to up to $25 million. 

“For years, Maduro and his cronies have manipulated Venezuela’s electoral system to maintain their illegitimate grip on power,” Rubio added on Sunday. “By scheduling the municipal elections on the eve of the anniversary of the stolen July 28 presidential election, the regime once again aims to deploy the military and police to suppress the will of the Venezuelan people.”

“The United States will continue working with our partners to hold accountable the corrupt, criminal and illegitimate Maduro regime. Those who steal elections and use force to grasp power undermine America’s national security interests,” Rubio said. 

Maduro became the Venezuelan president in 2013, but the U.S. has not recognized his presidency since 2019. The U.S. and other countries have refused to recognize Maduro as the winner of the July 2024 Venezuelan election, citing widespread fraud. 

VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION MEMBER DETAILS HARROWING 400-DAY CAPTIVITY AT UN

The Treasury Department on Friday sanctioned the Cartel de los Soles, also known as Cartel of the Suns, as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist.” The U.S. alleges that Cartel de los Soles is headed by Maduro and other Venezuelan high-ranking individuals in his regime “who corrupted the institutions of government in Venezuela, including parts of the military, intelligence apparatus, legislature, and the judiciary, to assist the cartel’s endeavors of trafficking narcotics into the United States.” 

The U.S. claims the Venezuela-based group provides material support to Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa Cartel. The Trump administration classified Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa Cartel as foreign terrorist organizations in February. 

According to the Treasury Department, the name Cartel de los Soles is derived from the sun insignias often portrayed on the uniforms of Venezuelan military officials. 

The cartel “supports Tren de Aragua in carrying out its objective of using the flood of illegal narcotics as a weapon against the United States,” according to the Treasury Department. 

Bessent said on Friday that the new action “exposes the illegitimate Maduro regime’s facilitation of narco-terrorism through terrorist groups like Cartel de los Soles.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“The Treasury Department will continue to execute on President Trump’s pledge to put America First by cracking down on violent organizations including Tren de Aragua, the Sinaloa Cartel, and their facilitators, like Cartel de los Soles,” he added. 

Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., believes it’s “weird” that the Trump administration has not released documents related to Jeffrey Epstein, but at one point, it was the last thing on her mind.

Democrats have searched for an opening to sharpen their messaging against Republicans, and have pounced on the administration and their colleagues across the aisle to release the documents. But Republicans have questioned why their counterparts didn’t have the same energy when former President Joe Biden was in office.

In a recent interview on PBS’ “Firing Line,” Slotkin, who has emerged as a leading voice in the Democratic Party, said that while she did not know what was in the documents, it was odd that President Donald Trump and his administration had not released them.

‘LOUDER BY THE HOUR’: SENATE GOP WANTS THE EPSTEIN DRAMA TO END, BUT DEMOCRATS AREN’T LETTING IT GO

“The president and his allies have created so much anticipation about these files at this point, it’s just weird that they’re not releasing them, right? The president fomented this,” she said.

But nearly five years ago, ahead of Biden’s eventual victory and a Democratic trifecta in Washington, the issue of Epstein was not a priority for the lawmaker, who at the time was in her first term in the House.

In a video from 2020 obtained by Fox News Digital, Slotkin said that diving into the connections between former President Bill Clinton and Epstein were not “front of mind.”

The sentiment came in response to a question about why there had been little mention of allegations that Clinton was in the trove of documents related to Epstein. She argued that there were more pressing issues at the time, like the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the economic fallout spurred by it.

SENATE REPUBLICAN DEMANDS STATE, FEDERAL COURTS ‘IMMEDIATELY UNSEAL ALL’ EPSTEIN DOCS

“In the face of those problems, I will be honest, I don’t spend a ton of time looking into connections between Bill Clinton and other people, because that doesn’t help my constituents every single day, right? And my job is to focus on those issues,” she said.

“I have no special knowledge of those issues, but my job is to focus on the things that affect people’s pocketbooks and their kids, and if I’m not making positive progress towards that, I’m not doing my job,” she continued. “And so, I can’t answer your question, because that’s not where I live and where I focus.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Slotkin for comment for this report but did not hear back.

‘NOT GOING AWAY’: INSIDE THE EPSTEIN DRAMA THAT’S THROWN HOUSE GOP INTO CHAOS

Congressional Democrats, and some Republicans, have pushed for more transparency from the Trump administration on the release of a trove of documents, known as the so-called Epstein files, in a saga that has engulfed Capitol Hill for much of July.

The furor in Congress stemmed from a Justice Department memo released earlier this month that declared the Epstein case closed, and has not lost steam in the time since.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Epstein intrigue paralyzed the House, causing House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to send lawmakers home early as a bipartisan swell grew to uncover the documents. 

The Senate has been less chaotic. Still, Senate Democrats have ramped up their messaging against the administration, while many Senate Republicans would prefer to focus their attention elsewhere. 

Tensions boiled over at the Texas Capitol Thursday night, when a Democratic congressional candidate was forcibly removed and arrested during a volatile redistricting hearing.

Isaiah Martin, running for Houston’s 18th Congressional District, defied repeated warnings to stop speaking after testimony accusing Republicans of rigging the redistricting process to appease President Donald Trump.

Footage from the hearing shows Martin collapsing as he was pulled from the room by authorities.

“History will NOT remember you for what you have DONE! It is a shame!” he yelled, prompting audible gasps from the crowd. He was charged with resisting arrest, criminal trespass and disrupting a public meeting. 

RED STATE MAP BATTLE HEATS UP AS TRUMP PUSHES TEXAS PLAN TO RESHAPE CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS

Martin was released from the Travis County Jail Friday, and all charges were dropped. He later posted a video on X thanking supporters and pledging to continue speaking out.

Martin began his testimony Thursday by challenging the legitimacy of the hearing. 

“It just seems as if many are just sitting here going with their motions, and it makes sense because the game is rigged,” he said.

He then accused Texas Republicans of gerrymandering at Trump’s request. 

“You gotta get Trump’s endorsement. That’s the name of the game to be a Republican nowadays,” Martin said. “Trump told every single one of you that he needs five seats. … But the real conversation we should be having … is that there will be a retaliation for that.”

Martin cited blue states he claimed are redrawing maps in response. 

“Gov. Kathy Hochul said that she will be gerrymanding Republicans out,” he said. “The same thing is gonna happen in New Jersey.”

Martin also attacked Texas’ leadership over economic issues. 

“We live in a state that is unaffordable … property taxes going up … despite the fact that you Republicans have been in office for nearly 30 straight years,” he said.

BETO O’ROURKE CALLS FOR DEMOCRATS TO BE ‘RUTHLESS’ IN PURSUIT OF POWER, BACKS NEWSOM’S GERRYMANDERING PROPOSAL

Criticizing the timing of the redistricting process, he added, “After one of the worst mass casualty events in our state’s history, you choose to go and gerrymander people out of their seats.”

Rep. Cody Vasut, the House Redistricting Committee chair, attempted to regain order, but Martin refused to yield. 

“No, I’m not going to finish. Because I’m … I’m NOT finished!”

Martin then turned his ire toward Trump. 

“You can thank your failed, senile, dilapidated, Epstein-partying with president for all of the work that we’re about to do to every single one of you,” he said. “You did this, you caused this and this is the result of you and your work.”

Vasut instructed state House sergeants to remove Martin. As Martin was dragged from the room, audience members shouted, “Get off of him!” 

Martin continued shouting, “America will rise up against you!”

The committee resumed without commenting on the disruption. 

Neither Martin’s campaign nor Gov. Greg Abbott‘s office responded to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment. 

Abbott has previously described the redistricting effort as a compliance move following court rulings against coalition districts.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

In a July 7 letter cited by The Dallas Examiner, the Department of Justice flagged TX‑18 as one of four congressional districts in Texas that may involve unconstitutional racial gerrymandering through “coalition district” configurations.

Trump has publicly called on state lawmakers to secure five additional Republican House seats through redistricting. 

The map remains unfinished, with hearings continuing Saturday in Houston and Monday in Arlington.

Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump on Saturday said 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.

“I just had a very good call with the Prime Minister of Cambodia, and informed him of my discussions with Thailand, and its Acting Prime Minister,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Saturday while in Scotland as part of a five-day trip to the United Kingdom. 

“Both Parties are looking for an immediate Ceasefire and Peace. They are also looking to get back to the ‘Trading Table’ with the United States, which we think is inappropriate to do until such time as the fighting STOPS.” 

The president said Cambodia and Thailand have agreed to meet immediately and “quickly work out a Ceasefire and, ultimately, PEACE! It was an Honor to deal with both Countries. They have a long and storied History and Culture. They will hopefully get along for many years to come. When all is done, and Peace is at hand, I look forward to concluding our Trading Agreements with both!”

HAMAS PUSHES BACK ON TRUMP AND WITKOFF’S CRITICISMS, DEMANDS US PRESSURE ISRAEL

Border clashes between the two countries continued for the third day Saturday, leaving at least 33 dead and displacing 168,000. 

Tensions flared Thursday after a landmine on the border injured five Thai soldiers and both countries blamed each other for the fighting. 

Thailand has closed its border with Cambodia, and both countries have recalled their ambassadors. 

On Saturday, Cambodia said 12 more people were killed, and Thai authorities said a soldier was killed.

RUSSIA, UKRAINE AGREE TO PRISONER SWAP AS CEASEFIRE TALKS COLLAPSE

The U.N. Security Council has also called for a de-escalation to the fighting, and Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa said the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) had called for a peaceful resolution. 

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, the current chair of ASEAN, said the leaders of Thailand and Cambodia are open to a ceasefire. 

“Thailand reaffirms its commitment to resolving the conflict peacefully and in accordance with international law,” Sangiampongsa said Saturday, urging Cambodia to “return to the negotiating table with sincerity and in good faith.”

He said, however, that Cambodia will need to stop fighting before Thailand considers a ceasefire. 

Cambodia’s Defense Ministry on Saturday, however, condemned what it called an “unprovoked and premeditated act of aggression” after five heavy artillery shells were fired into a Cambodian province. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“Neither Thailand nor Cambodia appears to be paying attention to international humanitarian law at great expense to civilians,” John Sifton, the Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. “Diplomatic efforts underway need to prioritize protecting civilians and civilian infrastructure.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

President Donald Trump arrived in Scotland late Friday for a working trip where he is expected to meet with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer amid ongoing trade negotiations between the U.S. and the U.K., as well as visit several of his properties there. 

“We’re meeting with the prime minister tonight,” Trump told reporters Friday before departing for Scotland. “We’re going to be talking about the trade deal that we made, and maybe even improve it.”

“We want to talk about certain aspects, which is going to be good for both countries,” Trump said. “More fine-tuning. Also, we’re going to do a little celebrating together, because, you know, we got along very well. U.K.’s been trying to make a deal with us for like, 12 years, and haven’t been able to do it. We got it done, and he’s doing a very good job, this prime minister. Good guy.”

TRUMP HEADS TO SCOTLAND TO TALK GOLF, POLITICS AND TRADE

In May, the U.S. and the U.K. announced the two countries had agreed to a major trade deal, which marked the first historic trade negotiation signed following Liberation Day, when Trump announced widespread tariffs for multiple countries April 2 at a range of rates.

Trump, who is slated to remain in Scotland until Tuesday, is also scheduled to visit his golf courses in Turnberry and Aberdeen while abroad. 

Here’s also what happened this week:

Federal Reserve visit 

Trump visited the Federal Reserve headquarters Thursday, as he has ramped up digs at Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. 

Trump accompanied other administration officials for a tour of the headquarters, following $2.5 billion in renovations to the building. The massive project has attracted scrutiny from lawmakers and members of the Trump administration, including the president, who suggested the huge renovation could amount to a fireable offense. 

“I think he’s terrible … I didn’t see him as a guy that needed a palace to live in,” Trump said July 16. “But the one thing I would have never guessed is that he would be spending two and a half billion dollars to build a little extension onto the Fed.”

FOUR KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM TRUMP’S VISIT TO THE FEDERAL RESERVE WITH POWELL

On Thursday, the two briefly sparred over the cost of the renovation, but Trump told reporters afterward that the two had a “good meeting” and that there was “no tension.” Trump also shut down speculation he might oust Powell, claiming such a move would be unnecessary. 

The Federal Reserve, the United States central bank, oversees the nation’s monetary policy and regulates financial institutions. 

Trump historically has railed against Powell, calling him names like “numskull” and “too late.” Likewise, Trump has expressed ire toward Powell for ignoring requests to lower interest rates. 

“Well, I’d love him to lower interest rates, but other than that, what can I tell you?” Trump said Thursday. 

Rescissions package signing

Trump signed into law Thursday his roughly $9 billion rescissions package to claw back already approved federal funds for foreign aid and public broadcasting. 

The rescissions measure revoked nearly $8 billion in funding Congress already approved for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), a formerly independent agency that provided impoverished countries aid and offered development assistance.

The rescissions package also rescinds more than $1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which provides federal funding for NPR and PBS.

TRUMP SIGNS $9B RESCISSIONS PACKAGE INTO LAW, REVOKING FUNDING FOR FOREIGN AID, NPR

Colorado Springs, Colo. – Incoming chair of the National Governors Association (NGA), Gov. Kevin Stitt, R-Okla., is “disappointed” that some Democratic governors might stop paying their dues to the bipartisan group. 

The Atlantic reported ahead of the NGA’s summer meeting in Colorado Springs, Colo., that at least two Democrats, Govs. Tim Walz of Minnesota and Laura Kelly of Kansas, plan to stop paying their dues when asked to renew their membership this month over the NGA’s response to President Donald Trump’s second term. 

“We shouldn’t be playing politics like they do in Washington, D.C.,” Stitt told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview at the summer meeting. “But sometimes, if you’re a governor running for president or a higher office, you make it political.”

Kelly is chair of the Democratic Governors Association (DGA), the partisan gubernatorial arm that has been vocal in resisting the Trump administration. As Walz weighs a third gubernatorial run, the former vice presidential candidate has remained a leading critic of Trump’s administration since losing the White House alongside Vice President Kamala Harris last year. 

TIM WALZ LEADING DEM EFFORT TO TURN BIPARTISAN GROUP AGAINST PRESIDENT TRUMP: REPORT

The Democratic discontent comes as Democratic Gov. Jared Polis of Colorado prepares to cede his chairmanship to Stitt, a Republican, at this weekend’s summer meeting. Gov. Wes Moore, D-Md., is set to become vice chair. 

DEMOCRATS FORGE STRANGE BEDFELLOWS AS PARTY FLOUNDERS IN TRUMP’S 2ND TERM

“I would tell anybody, listen, do you want your leaders to take their ball and go home just because they get mad at something? That’s not the way to solve problems,” Stitt said, adding that he likes both Walz and Kelly. 

“Listen, this isn’t the time to take our ball and go home. Let’s sit down and debate what the best policies [are] going forward,” Stitt added. 

The Oklahoma governor said it can be “frustrating” when Democrats are constantly targeting Trump, but as a business leader, he said there are plenty of instances in which governors can find common ground, including a reduction of the United States’ more than $36 trillion in debt. 

Ahead of the summer meeting, Eric Wohlschlegel, NGA communications director, emphasized the bipartisan nature of the NGA and told Fox News Digital the NGA’s “mission hasn’t changed.”

According to The Atlantic report, Democratic members of the NGA complained the group “did not respond forcefully enough” when the Trump administration paused federal funding early this year, as Gov. Janet Mills of Maine clashed with Trump over biological men playing in women’s sports and, more recently, when Trump authorized the National Guard to California to amid the anti-ICE protests. 

“Every public statement NGA issues reflects bipartisan consensus. So far this year, all but one statement has had that consensus, and when governors don’t agree, we simply don’t issue one. That’s how we preserve our role as a bipartisan convener, a principle we won’t compromise,” Wohlschlegel explained. 

Thirteen Republican and seven Democratic leaders planned to attend the summer meeting, featuring discussions with Education Secretary Linda McMahon and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 

A source familiar with the situation blamed the controversy on “Democratic infighting, unspoken campaign jockeying and a few anonymous voices looking to reshape a nonpartisan institution into a political one.”

The source added that “no governors are on the record expressing discontent with the NGA. No allegations of misconduct, governance failure or mismanagement have been raised.”

And without addressing the controversy directly, Conor Cahill, a spokesperson for Polis, told Fox News Digital the governor “has been honored” to lead the NGA and to “work across the aisle with governors on education, permitting reform, standing up to federal efforts to strip away gubernatorial authority around the National Guard and elevating the priorities of states.”

He added that “during this polarizing time, bipartisan organizations are needed more than ever, and NGA must continue to demonstrate value to all governors and effectively communicate governors’ opinions on various matters with the public and the federal government.” 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Abegail Cave, a spokesperson for Stitt, told Fox News Digital ahead of the NGA that “people seem to forget NGA is a bipartisan organization, not a political one.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Walz and Kelly for comment but did not immediately receive a response. 

After reports that top officials from the Obama administration allegedly orchestrated a coordinated attempt to sabotage President Donald Trump’s 2016 election victory, GOP lawmakers are calling for transparency and accountability, while their Democratic colleagues are questioning the timing and credibility of the new claims.

Trump’s director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, released a trove of intelligence documents beginning last week that Gabbard has said show former President Barack Obama and some of his closest advisors promoted a “contrived narrative” that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to sabotage Trump. 

However, Democrats have insisted that congressional investigations already prove that Russia did help Trump in the 2016 election, while also questioning the timing of the allegations due to pressure on Trump to release more Epstein files.

“It is profoundly dishonest, and it’s dangerous,” Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz told Fox News Digital, in reference to the allegations from Gabbard. “What I have urged the administration to do is engage in radical transparency, make it all public and expose just how much the Obama administration knew what they were doing – that they knew they were lying. I think anybody that violated the law needs to be held accountable.”

DNI GABBARD CLAIMS ‘DEEP STATE ACTORS’ DIDN’T WANT TRUMP-RUSSIA INFORMATION TO ‘SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY’

But Democratic California Sen. Adam Schiff told Fox News Digital he thinks the allegations are moot, pointing to former FBI Director Robert Mueller’s 2019 report, which he said “documented Russia’s efforts to help denigrate Hillary Clinton, which gave a boost to the Trump campaign.

“I think what Gabbard and her staff are doing is dishonest,” he added.

However, Republican Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford argued it has “long been established” that the Steele dossier was “clearly a Clinton plant” and that the Clinton campaign was actually “cooperating with the Russians to be able to actually use the Russians to be able to interfere with President Trump’s campaign.”

“What Tulsi Gabbard is pulling out is to say, ‘How deep did this go into the White House that they knew about the Steele Dossier, they knew it was a Clinton document. When did they start pushing this out, and what official resources were they using to try to add validity to this to be able to undercut the election?'” Lankford said. 

“We got a long way to go still, but it’s good to be able to get all information out, to be able to pull it out there and to say, ‘Let’s let everybody look at it and let the chips fall where they may.'”

OBAMA-ERA OFFICIALS MUM ON ALLEGATIONS OF ‘MANUFACTURED’ INTELLIGENCE LAUNCHING TRUMP-RUSSIA PROBE

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., said he believed Gabbard was doing the right thing, also expressing hope for extreme transparency amid the alarming allegations.

“Part of what this election was about, it was about transparency and government accountability. And that’s exactly what [Gabbard] is trying to do, and that’s exactly what the Trump administration is trying to do,” Scott said. “Let’s get the people the facts. Let’s follow where the facts are. If somebody’s done anything, we’ll hold them accountable. So, i think the right process is what’s happening.”           

Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., a former CIA analyst, questioned the timing of Gabbard’s release of the information, saying even her 10-year-old nephew understood the move as “a dodge and a distraction” to get eyes off the ongoing Epstein controversy. Amid Gabbard’s document release at the beginning of last week, Trump has been facing calls from within the GOP for the release of more documents and information pertaining to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

“President Trump had four years in his first term, and all the time since then, to go after this issue, and he picks the same day that his name appears in the Epstein files to talk about Barack Obama,” Slotkin told Fox News Digital. “American people are not dumb. Like, we get it. Trump wanted to talk about something different. I have to see these reports, and see how they’re sourced. … I like to read and make my own assessment. But the timing can’t be missed. The president is trying to dodge and distract you.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

While partisan affiliation may play a part in how lawmakers and the broader public view the Obama allegations released by Gabbard, Sen.  John Boozman, R-Ark., said he thinks the issue “transcends” party affiliation. 

“Republican, Democrat, I mean, you know, this is something that transcends all that. This is really important,” Boozman told Fox News Digital. “Hopefully we’ll have open transparency so people will understand what’s going on. And whatever it is, I’m sure Congress will be involved, and certainly the Justice Department is involved. So, I think these are all good things.”

The Supreme Court has temporarily allowed President Donald Trump to fire numerous Democrat-appointed members of independent agencies, but one case still moving through the legal system carries the greatest implications yet for a president’s authority to do that.

In Slaughter v. Trump, a Biden-appointed member of the Federal Trade Commission has vowed to fight what she calls her “illegal firing,” setting up a possible scenario in which the case lands before the Supreme Court.

The case would pose the most direct question yet to the justices about where they stand on Humphrey’s Executor v. United States, the nearly century-old decision regarding a president’s power over independent regulatory agencies.

John Shu, a constitutional law expert who served in both Bush administrations, told Fox News Digital he thinks the high court is likely to side with the president if and when the case arrives there.

SUPREME COURT SAYS TRUMP CAN PROCEED WITH FIRING DEMOCRAT-APPOINTED CPSC MEMBERS

“I think it’s unlikely that Humphrey’s Executor survives the Supreme Court, at least in its current form,” Shu said, adding he anticipates the landmark decision will be overturned or “severely narrowed.”

What is Humphrey’s Executor?

Humphrey’s Executor centered on President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s decision to fire an FTC commissioner with whom he disagreed politically. The case marked the first instance of the Supreme Court limiting a president’s removal power by ruling that Roosevelt overstepped his authority. The court found that presidents could not dismiss FTC commissioners without a reason, such as malfeasance, before their seven-year terms ended, as outlined by Congress in the FTC Act.

However, the FTC’s functions, which largely center on combating anticompetitive business practices, have expanded in the 90 years since Humphrey’s Executor.

“The Federal Trade Commission of 1935 is a lot different than the Federal Trade Commission today,” Shu said.

He noted that today’s FTC can open investigations, issue subpoenas, bring lawsuits, impose financial penalties and more. The FTC now has executive, quasi-legislative and quasi-judicial functions, Shu said.

SCOTUS greenlights other firings

If the Supreme Court’s decision to temporarily allow two labor board members’ firings is any indication, the high court stands ready to make the FTC less independent and more accountable to Trump.

In a 6-3 order, the Supreme Court cited the “considerable executive power” that the National Labor Relations Board and Merit Systems Protection Board have, saying a president “may remove without cause executive officers who exercise that power on his behalf.”

TRUMP’S CONTROVERSIAL PLAN TO FIRE FEDERAL WORKERS FINDS FAVOR WITH SUPREME COURT

The order did not mention Humphrey’s Executor, but that and other moves indicate the Supreme Court has been chipping away at the 90-year-old ruling and is open to reversing it.

The case of Rebecca Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya gets closest to the heart of Humphrey’s Executor.

Where does Slaughter’s case stand?

Slaughter enjoyed a short-lived victory when a federal judge in Washington, D.C., found that Trump violated the Constitution and ruled in her favor on July 17.

She was able to return to the FTC for a few days, but the Trump administration appealed the decision and, on July 21, the appellate court paused the lower court judge’s ruling.

Judge Loren AliKhan had said in her summary judgment that Slaughter’s case was almost identical to William Humphrey’s.

SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS TRUMP’S REMOVAL OF BIDEN APPOINTEES FROM FEDERAL BOARDS

“It is not the role of this court to decide the correctness, prudence, or wisdom of the Supreme Court’s decisions—even one from ninety years ago,” AliKhan, a Biden appointee, wrote. “Whatever the Humphrey’s Executor Court may have thought at the time of that decision, this court will not second-guess it now.”

The lawsuit arose from Trump firing Slaughter and Bedoya, the two Democratic-appointed members of the five-member commission. They alleged that Trump defied Humphrey’s Executor by firing them in March without cause in a letter that “nearly word-for-word” mirrored the one Roosevelt sent a century ago.

Bedoya has since resigned, but Slaughter is not backing down from a legal fight in which Trump appears to have the upper hand.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“Like dozens of other federal agencies, the Federal Trade Commission has been protected from presidential politics for nearly a century,” Slaughter said in a statement after she was re-fired. “I’ll continue to fight my illegal firing and see this case through, because part of why Congress created independent agencies is to ensure transparency and accountability.”

Now a three-judge panel comprising two Obama appointees and one Trump appointee is considering a longer-term pause and asked for court filings to be submitted by July 29, meaning the judges could issue their decision soon thereafter.

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard declassified a slew of documents this month, revealing that Obama administration officials “manufactured” intelligence to push the Trump-Russia collusion narrative.

Here’s a look at the newly declassified records:

Declassified Presidential Daily Brief

Documents revealed that in the months leading up to the November 2016 election, the intelligence community consistently assessed that Russia was “probably not trying … to influence the election by using cyber means.”

One instance was on Dec. 7, 2016, weeks after the election. Then-Director of National Intelligence James Clapper’s talking points stated, “Foreign adversaries did not use cyberattacks on election infrastructure to alter the U.S. presidential election outcome.”

Fox News Digital obtained a declassified copy of the Presidential Daily Brief, which was prepared by the Department of Homeland Security, with reporting from the CIA, Defense Intelligence Agency, FBI, National Security Agency, Department of Homeland Security, State Department and open sources, for Obama, dated Dec. 8, 2016.

“We assess that Russian and criminal actors did not impact recent U.S. election results by conducting malicious cyber activities against election infrastructure,” the Presidential Daily Brief stated. “Russian Government-affiliated actors most likely compromised an Illinois voter registration database and unsuccessfully attempted the same in other states.”

But the brief stated that it was “highly unlikely” the effort “would have resulted in altering any state’s official vote result.”

“Criminal activity also failed to reach the scale and sophistication necessary to change election outcomes,” it stated. 

The brief noted that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence assessed that any Russian activities “probably were intended to cause psychological effects, such as undermining the credibility of the election process and candidates.”

The brief stated that cyber criminals “tried to steal data and to interrupt election processes by targeting election infrastructure, but these actions did not achieve a notable disruptive effect.”

Fox News Digital obtained declassified, but redacted, communications from the FBI in the Presidential Daily Brief, stating that it “should not go forward until the FBI” had shared its “concerns.”

Those communications revealed that the FBI drafted a “dissent” to the original Presidential Daily Brief. 

OBAMA ADMIN ‘MANUFACTURED’ INTELLIGENCE TO CREATE 2016 RUSSIAN ELECTION INTERFERENCE NARRATIVE, DOCUMENTS SHOW

The communications revealed that the brief was expected to be published Dec. 9, 2016, the following day, but later communications revealed the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, “based on some new guidance,” decided to “push back publication” of the Presidential Daily Brief. 

“It will not run tomorrow and is not likely to run until next week,” wrote the deputy director of the Presidential Daily Brief at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, whose name is redacted. 

The following day, Dec. 9, 2016, a meeting convened in the White House Situation Room, with the subject line starting: “Summary of Conclusions for PC Meeting on a Sensitive Topic (REDACTED.)”

The meeting included top officials in the National Security Council, Clapper, then-CIA Director John Brennan, then-National Security Advisor Susan Rice, then-Secretary of State John Kerry, then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch, then-Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe, among others, to discuss Russia.

The declassified meeting record, obtained by Fox News Digital, revealed that principals “agreed to recommend sanctioning of certain members of the Russian military intelligence and foreign intelligence chains of command responsible for cyber operations as a response to cyber activity that attempted to influence or interfere with U.S. elections, if such activity meets the requirements” from an executive order that demanded the blocking of property belonging to people engaged in cyber activities.

After the meeting, according to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Clapper’s executive assistant emailed intelligence community leaders tasking them to create a new intelligence community assessment “per the president’s request” that detailed the “tools Moscow used and actions it took to influence the 2016 election.”

“ODNI will lead this effort with participation from CIA, FBI, NSA, and DHS,” the record states.

Later, Obama officials “leaked false statements to media outlets” claiming that “Russia has attempted through cyber means to interfere in, if not actively influence, the outcome of an election.”

By Jan. 6, 2017, a new Intelligence Community Assessment was released that, according to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, “directly contradicted the IC assessments that were made throughout the previous six months.” 

Intelligence officials told Fox News Digital that the ICA was “politicized” because it “suppressed intelligence from before and after the election showing Russia lacked intent and capability to hack the 2016 election.” 

Officials also said it deceived the American public “by claiming the IC made no assessment on the ‘impact’ of Russian activities,” when the intelligence community “did, in fact, assess for impact.” 

“The unpublished December PDB stated clearly that Russia ‘did not impact’ the election through cyber hacks on the election,” an official told Fox News Digital.

FBI LAUNCHES CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS OF JOHN BRENNAN, JAMES COMEY: DOJ SOURCES

The official also said the ICA had assessed that “Russia was responsible for leaking data from the DNC and DCCC,” while “failing to mention that FBI and NSA previously expressed low confidence in this attribution.” 

Officials said the intelligence was “politicized” and then “used as the basis for countless smears seeking to delegitimize President Trump’s victory, the years-long Mueller investigation, two Congressional impeachments, high level officials being investigated, arrested, and thrown in jail, heightened US-Russia tensions, and more.”

Declassified House Intelligence Committee Report

A report prepared by the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence in 2020 said the intelligence community did not have any direct information that Russian President Vladimir Putin wanted to help elect Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential election, but, at the “unusual” direction of then-President Barack Obama, published “potentially biased” or “implausible” intelligence suggesting otherwise.

The report, based on an investigation launched by former House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., was dated Sept. 18, 2020. At the time of the publication of the report, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., was the chairman of the committee.

The report has never before been released to the public and instead has remained highly classified within the intelligence community.

Fox News Digital obtained the “fully-sourced limited-access investigation report that was drafted and stored in a limited-access vault at CIA Headquarters.” The report includes some redactions.

BRENNAN DIRECTED PUBLICATION OF ‘IMPLAUSIBLE’ REPORTS CLAIMING PUTIN PREFERRED TRUMP IN 2016, HOUSE FOUND

The committee focused on the creation of the Intelligence Community Assessment of 2017, in which then-CIA Director John Brennan pushed for the inclusion of the now-discredited anti-Trump dossier despite knowing it was based largely on “internet rumor,” as Fox News Digital previously reported.

According to the report, the ICA was a “high-profile product ordered by the President, directed by senior IC agency heads, and created by just five CIA analysts, using one principal drafter.”

“Production of the ICA was subject to unusual directives from the President and senior political appointees, and particularly DCIA,” the report states. “The draft was not properly coordinated within CIA or the IC, ensuring it would be published without significant challenges to its conclusions.”

The committee found that the five CIA analysts and drafter “rushed” the ICA’s production “in order to publish two weeks before President-elect Trump was sworn-in.”

“Hurried coordination and limited access to the draft reduced opportunities for the IC to discover misquoting of sources and other tradecraft concerns,” the report states.

The report states that Brennan “ordered the post-election publication of 15 reports containing previously collected but unpublished intelligence, three of which were substandard — containing information that was unclear, of uncertain origin, potentially biased, or implausible — and those became foundational sources for the ICA judgements that Putin preferred Trump over Clinton.”

“The ICA misrepresented these reports as reliable, without mentioning their significant underlying flaws,” the committee found.

“One scant, unclear, and unverifiable fragment of a sentence from one of the substandard reports constitutes the only classified information cited to suggest Putin ‘aspired’ to help Trump win,” the report states, adding that the ICA “ignored or selectively quoted reliable intelligence reports that challenged — and in some cases undermined — judgments that Putin sought to elect Trump.”

The report also states that the ICA “failed to consider plausible alternative explanations of Putin’s intentions indicated by reliable intelligence and observed Russian actions.”

The committee also found that two senior CIA officers warned Brennan that “we don’t have direct information that Putin wanted to get Trump elected.”

Despite those warnings, the Obama administration moved to publish the ICA.

The ICA “did not cite any report where Putin directly indicated helping Trump win was the objective.”

The ICA, according to the report, excluded “significant intelligence” and “ignored or selectively quoted” reliable intelligence in an effort to push the Russia narrative.

The report also includes intelligence from a longtime Putin confidant who explained to investigators that “Putin told him he did not care who won the election,” and that Putin “had often outlined the weaknesses of both major candidates.”

The report also states that the ICA omitted context showing that the claim that Putin preferred Trump was “implausible —if not ridiculous.”

The committee also found that the ICA suppressed intelligence that showed that Russia was actually planning for a Hillary Clinton victory because “they knew where (she) stood” and believed Russia “could work with her.”

The committee also noted that the ICA “did not address why Putin chose not to leak more discrediting material on Clinton, even as polls tightened in the final weeks of the election.”

The committee also found that the ICA suppressed intelligence showing that Putin was “not only demonstrating a clear lack of concern for Trump’s election fate,” but also indicated “that he preferred to see Secretary Clinton elected, knowing she would be a more vulnerable President.”

Declassified Hillary Clinton section of House Intelligence Committee Report

One section of the declassified House Intelligence Committee report states that the material in Putin’s possession included Russian intelligence on Democratic National Committee information allegedly showing that senior Democratic leaders found Clinton’s health to be “extraordinarily alarming.” 

“As of September 2016, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service had DNC information that President Obama and Party leaders found the state of Secretary Clinton’s health to be ‘extraordinarily alarming,’ and felt it could have ‘serious negative impact’ on her election prospects,” the report states. “Her health information was being kept in ‘strictest secrecy’ and even close advisors were not being fully informed.” 

The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service also allegedly had DNC communications that showed that “Clinton was suffering from ‘intensified psycho-emotional problems, including uncontrolled fits of anger, aggression, and cheerfulness.'” 

“Clinton was placed on a daily regimen of ‘heavy tranquilizers’ and while afraid of losing, she remained ‘obsessed with a thirst for power,’” the report states.

The Russians also allegedly had information that Clinton “suffered from ‘Type 2 diabetes, Ischemic heart disease, deep vein thrombosis, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.’”

HILLARY CLINTON AIDE DISMISSES TULSI GABBARD’S CLAIMS AS ‘RIDICULOUS’

The Russians also allegedly possessed a “campaign email discussing a plan approved by Secretary Clinton to link Putin and Russian hackers to candidate Trump in order to ‘distract the American public’ from the Clinton email server scandal.” 

Gabbard, during the White House press briefing Wednesday, said there were “high-level DNC emails that detailed evidence of Hillary’s, quote, psycho-emotional problems, uncontrolled fits of anger, aggression and cheerfulness, and that then-Secretary Clinton was allegedly on a daily regimen of heavy tranquilizers.” 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

A tranquilizer is a drug used to reduce mental disturbance, such as anxiety and tension. Tranquilizers are typically prescribed to individuals suffering from anxiety, sleep disturbances and related conditions affecting their mental and physical health. 

A Clinton aide dismissed the claims as “ridiculous.” 

Neither Clinton nor Obama responded to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment. 

The Trump administration’s battle with Democrat-controlled jurisdictions and their sanctuary polices suffered a blow on Friday when a federal judge in Chicago dismissed a case challenging their legality.

Judge Lindsay Jenkins of the Northern District of Illinois, a President Biden appointee, granted the defendants’ motion for dismissal, ruling that the city’s ordinances are lawful protections not subject to federal enforcement mandates.

The Trump Justice Department, in a February filing, accused the state of Illinois and the city of Chicago of unlawfully interfering with President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration as it aims to carry out mass deportations. 

TRUMP DOJ SUES NEW YORK CITY OVER LONG-STANDING SANCTUARY IMMIGRATION POLICIES

Sanctuary cities or sanctuary policies limit co-operation between local officials and law enforcement and federal immigration authorities. The Trump administration has long railed against the measures, arguing they make such areas a haven for criminal illegal immigrants and contribute to increased crime.

The Justice Department alleges these laws violate the U.S. Constitution’s “Supremacy Clause” under the Tenth Amendment, which states that federal law preempts state and local laws that may conflict with it.

But Jenkins rejected the argument, ruling that states retain significant powers not explicitly granted to the federal government.

“Finding that these same Policy provisions constitute discrimination or impermissible regulation would provide an end-run around the Tenth Amendment,” the judge wrote. “It would allow the federal government to commandeer States under the guise of intergovernmental immunity — the exact type of direct regulation of states barred by the Tenth Amendment.” 

MAYOR JOHNSON WARNS TRUMP AGAINST DEPLOYING FEDERAL TROOPS FOR IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN IN CHICAGO

The Chicago City Council passed an ordinance in 2012 that stops city agencies and employees from getting involved in civil immigration enforcement or helping federal authorities with such efforts. The Illinois legislature passed a similar state law, known as the TRUST Act, in 2017.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said he was pleased with the decision and that the city is safer when police focus on the needs of Chicagoans.

 “This ruling affirms what we have long known: that Chicago’s Welcoming City Ordinance is lawful and supports public safety. The City cannot be compelled to cooperate with the Trump Administration’s reckless and inhumane immigration agenda,” he said in a statement.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The Trump administration has sued several jurisdictions over their sanctuary policies, including a filing this week against New York City. The administration has also sued several New Jersey cities, as well as Los Angeles.

Attorney General Pam Bondi said the federal government was left with no choice but to protect New Yorkers by filing the suit.

“If New York’s leaders won’t step up to protect their citizens, we will,” she wrote on X. 

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that Homeland Security has started flying migrants out of the “Alligator Alcatraz” detention facility.

“I’m pleased to report that those flights out of Alligator Alcatraz by DHS have begun. The cadence is increasing. We’ve already had a number of flights, in the last few days, we’ve had hundreds of illegals [that] have been removed from here,” DeSantis said Friday while speaking in South Florida.

When asked for the exact number of deportations and where the planes were heading to, Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin delivered a one-line statement to Fox News Digital.

“Fire up the deportation planes,” she said.

INSIDE ‘ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ’: THE NEWEST MIGRANT DETENTION FACILITY ERECTED AT AN ABANDONED EVERGLADES AIRPORT

DeSantis authorized the construction of the illegal immigrant detention center on a 30-square-mile property in the Everglades’ swamplands of Miami–Dade County under an emergency order. The property in Ochopee is a former airport that has been outfitted with sturdy tent structures. 

The Florida Division of Emergency Management said the site has the capacity for 2,000 detainees but will eventually hold 4,000.

TRUMP SAYS THE ONLY WAY OUT OF ‘ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ’ IS DEPORTATION

DeSantis said Friday that “The whole purpose is to make this be a place that can facilitate increased frequency and numbers of deportations of illegal aliens, and that is the goal.”

“And one of the reasons why this was a sensible spot is because you have this runway that’s right here. You don’t have to drive them an hour to an airport. You go a couple thousand feet and they can be on a plane and out of here,” the governor added.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP 

“This airport is able to accept commercial-sized aircraft and conduct both, both day and nighttime operations,” DeSantis also said.

Fox News’ Danamarie McNicholl, Emma Colton and Mara Robles contributed to this report.

Senate Democrats have begun to ramp up their push for the full release of documents related to the late, convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, while Senate Republicans have tried to focus their attention elsewhere.

“The story Republicans hoped would quietly fade is growing louder by the hour,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said on the Senate floor.

SENATE REPUBLICAN DEMANDS STATE, FEDERAL COURTS ‘IMMEDIATELY UNSEAL ALL’ EPSTEIN DOCS

Schumer has led the charge among Senate Democrats in demanding more transparency on the Epstein issue, and has used the drama in recent weeks as a political cudgel to go after congressional Republicans and the White House.

His remarks come after a recent Wall Street Journal report alleged that President Donald Trump‘s name appeared in the documents surrounding Epstein, and that he was told by the Justice Department about it before publicly saying he was not among the untold number of names within the documents.

Trump also ordered Attorney General Pam Bondi to “produce any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony” on the matter, and top Justice Department official Todd Blanche met with Epstein accomplice Ghislane Maxwell in Florida on Thursday to discuss the late pedophile and alleged sex trafficker.

“It has the stench of a cover-up,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told Fox News Digital. “The only right outcome here is to release and disclose all the files. There should be no secret meetings or secret deals.”

‘NOT GOING AWAY’: INSIDE THE EPSTEIN DRAMA THAT’S THROWN HOUSE GOP INTO CHAOS

However, the Epstein saga has not had near the effect in the Senate as in the House, where House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., sent lawmakers home early this week for a monthlong break after some Republicans and Democrats joined forces in their calls to bring the so-called Epstein files out in the open.

Senate Republicans, meanwhile, have downplayed the issue, arguing that Congress has far less power to obtain the information than the Justice Department does.

Sen. Ron Johnson, who chairs the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, told Fox News Digital that he does not like “duplicating efforts,” but noted that he is still curious to know more information about the Epstein documents.  

“I’m like every American who knows anything about this – I’m curious,” the Wisconsin Republican said. “It doesn’t make any sense to me, starting back with his original trial and very light sentence. But I think there are far more important things to worry about.”

Senate Democrats are trying to force the issue, however. Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., again tried to introduce a non-binding resolution that called on Bondi to release all files related to Epstein, and the move was again blocked by Sen. Markwaye Mullin, R-Okla. 

TABLES TURN AS HOUSE GOP BLASTS DEMS FOR SUDDENLY DEMANDING EPSTEIN TRANSPARENCY FROM TRUMP ADMIN

Gallego said that the White House continues to make the issue “political theater,” something that began on the campaign trail.

“They fed this monster, and now they have to figure out the solution to what the American public is asking for, which is, you know, resolution and answers to their questions,” he said.

Mullin, however, introduced his own resolution that comported with the president’s order for state and federal courts to release all Epstein documents surrounding the criminal investigation and prosecution against him. But when Gallego offered to combine the two, he objected, and accused him of turning the issue into a “political football.”

“One, in this particular case — in a lot of cases — we’re not willing to stretch the truth to tell something that’s not accurate,” Mullin said. “We want to be accurate with what we’re telling the American people. And the truth is, what can Congress do?”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

So far, Mullin’s resolution is the only action offered by Senate Republicans in the ongoing Epstein saga. When asked if he would be interested in bringing the resolution to the floor for a vote, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said “obviously there is some interest in taking action on it, and we’ll see how intense that feeling is.”

Still, some Republicans want to focus their efforts elsewhere.

“I hope we don’t waste our time on that,” said Sen. John Cornyn, R-TX, and a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. “We’ve got enough to do.” 

President Donald Trump said that those asking about the late financier Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking case should direct their attention to former President Bill Clinton and former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers. 

Trump’s remarks come a day after U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche met with Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell in Florida amid heightened scrutiny about the case after the Trump administration announced it would not unseal investigation materials concerning Epstein. 

JEFFREY EPSTEIN ACCOMPLICE GHISLAINE MAXWELL HAD ‘VERY PRODUCTIVE DAY MEETING’ WITH DEPUTY AG: ATTORNEY 

“You ought to be speaking about Larry Summers. You ought to be speaking about some of his friends that are hedge fund guys,” Trump told reporters Friday while departing for Scotland. “They’re all over the place. You ought to be speaking about Bill Clinton.” 

Trump then accused Clinton of visiting Epstein’s private island the financier used as a home base for his sex-trafficking operations. Trump said he’d never visited the island before. 

Meanwhile, Clinton has also said he has never visited the island either. In his new memoir “Citizen,” released in 2024, Clinton said he’d never gone to the island and that he wished he’d never even met Epstein in the first place. 

Spokespeople for Summers and Clinton did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. 

Summers previously served as treasury secretary for Clinton, as well as the director of the National Economic Council for former President Barack Obama. 

GHISLAINE MAXWELL SUBPOENAED BY HOUSE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE AMID EPSTEIN FILES PUSH

Trump’s comments come amid outrage from some conservatives after the Department of Justice and the FBI announced in July the agencies will not release new documents from the Epstein sex trafficking case, and that their review into Epstein is closed. 

Additionally, the agencies said that they did not detect a list of sexual predators with ties to Epstein, and concluded there were no new people who could face charges. 

FEDERAL JUDGE RULES ON TRUMP’S REQUEST TO UNSEAL EPSTEIN GRAND JURY TRANSCRIPTS

Trump has sought to quash curiosity about the Epstein case and said that no credible information is left to share with the public. 

“He’s dead for a long time. He was never a big factor in terms of life. I don’t understand what the interest or what the fascination is. I really don’t, and the credible information’s been given,” Trump said July 14. 

Blanche said after his Thursday meeting with Maxwell that he would meet with her again on Friday and would share more details later. 

“Today, I met with Ghislaine Maxwell, and I will continue my interview of her tomorrow,” Blanche said in a Thursday post on X. “The Department of Justice will share additional information about what we learned at the appropriate time.”

Meanwhile, Maxwell has been convicted on charges including sex trafficking of a minor and is serving a 20-year sentence. 

A House GOP lawmaker is entering the race to become South Carolina governor on Friday, his campaign confirmed to Fox News Digital.

Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, is expected to kick off his campaign with an event in Rock Hill, South Carolina, on Friday.

As of Friday morning, his non-congressional X account had been changed to say, “Ralph Norman for Governor.”

He’s a fiscal hawk on the House GOP’s rightmost flank, where he’s joined other like-minded colleagues in upending leaders’ legislative agenda at times in the name of pushing for more conservative policy wins.

COMER DISMISSES BIDEN DOCTOR’S BID FOR PAUSE IN COVER-UP PROBE: ‘THROWING OUT EVERY EXCUSE’

Norman is joining a crowded Republican primary field with his new gubernatorial bid. South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and state Sen. Josh Kimbrell are also in the race.

Meanwhile, Norman’s House colleague, Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., is also said to be considering a campaign for governor.

“We wish Congressman Ralph Norman the best of luck today as he announces his run for Governor,” Mace said in a statement on X.

Norman previously ran the Warren Norman Company, a commercial real estate development business started by his father.

Before being elected to Congress via special election in 2017, Norman served in the South Carolina state House from 2009 to 2017.

A longtime ally of former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, Norman was the only House Republican to formally endorse her before Haley dropped out of the race, after which Norman emphatically backed President Donald Trump.

He told Fox News Digital of his endorsement in January 2024, “When I supported Nikki Haley, I had the respect of Donald Trump to call him, and I told him what I was gonna do, and I decided I was going to do it.”

Norman has been a vocal supporter of Trump since Haley’s exit. He was most recently at the White House earlier this week with other House Republicans for a reception celebrating their legislative successes.

THOM TILLIS ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT FROM SENATE AFTER CLASH WITH TRUMP

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Earlier this year, he was part of a group of conservatives in the House Freedom Caucus forcing last-minute changes to the president’s “big, beautiful bill” that they said fell more in line with what Trump actually wanted.

Current South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, also a close Trump ally, is term-limited at the end of 2026.

The president’s endorsement will likely play a decisive role in the Palmetto State’s GOP primary.

President Donald Trump’s political team and top advisers to Republican Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia apparently aren’t on the same page when it comes to the key southeastern battleground state’s Republican Senate primary.

The race is crucial for Republicans aiming to expand their Senate majority, as Sen. Jon Ossoff, who is running for re-election in a state that Trump narrowly carried in last year’s election, is viewed by the GOP as the most vulnerable Democrat seeking re-election in next year’s midterm elections.

Kemp, a popular two-term conservative governor whom Trump had heavily criticized in the past, was courted by national Republicans to take on Ossoff. But Kemp, who is term-limited, announced earlier this year that he would pass on a 2026 Senate run.

Sources in Trump’s political orbit and Republican sources in Georgia confirm to Fox News that there was an agreement between the president’s political operation and Kemp’s political team that they would work together to find a candidate that they could all unify behind to take on Ossoff in the Senate race.

FIRST ON FOX: TRUMP HOUSE ALLY TO LAUNCH SENATE BID NEXT WEEK IN KEY BATTLEGROUND STATE

Those sources also confirm that Kemp and Trump – the ultimate kingmaker in GOP politics – met two weeks ago to discuss the Senate race in Georgia.

But when the governor floated the name of former University of Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley, a source close to the president’s political team said “they were told to stand down, because Trump’s team wasn’t ready to move forward on anybody.”

And when Kemp and his team did move forward with Dooley, it upset Trump’s advisers, who, according to sources, were “already pretty annoyed” that Kemp had passed earlier this year on taking on Ossoff in the Senate race.

POPULAR GOP GOVERNOR PASSES ON SENATE BID IN 2026

“We had a deal to work together,” a top political source in the Trump orbit told Fox News on Friday.  “Kemp went out on his own – which has frustrated and pissed off Trump orbit.”

The source added that “the best option for the GOP in Georgia was and is Brian Kemp. Unfortunately, he has chosen the path of the weak, and – instead of leading – has decided to circumvent and self-anoint a candidate no one has heard of and the president hasn’t met.”

“The operation that delivered the win in Georgia was the Trump organization – not a faux operation – it’s hard to see it rallying behind the blind ambition of someone more interested in 2028 than in 2026,” the source said, in a not-so-veiled reference to Kemp’s potential interest in seeking the 2028 Republican presidential nomination. 

But a source close to the governor told Fox News that it’s factually not true that they were told to stand down on Dooley.

And the source added that Kemp meant what he said that he wants to work with the president and his team and remains that way.

Kemp’s political team first floated the Dooley trial balloon about two months ago. A longtime Georgia-based Republican strategist said the reaction in the Peach State among Republicans “was very negative.”

Dooley, who is the son of former longtime University of Georgia football coach Vince Dooley, is close with Kemp, who is a longtime friend.

And Dooley has hired two top Kemp political advisers to help with his potential Senate campaign.

A Republican source in Georgia says a decision by Dooley on whether he’ll run could come as early as next week.

Republican Rep. Mike Collins, a Trump ally and supporter in the House, will announce his candidacy for the Senate next week, sources with knowledge told Fox News Digital on Friday.

Republican Rep. Buddy Carter, who for a decade has represented a district in coastal Georgia, launched a Senate campaign in the spring.

Georgia Insurance Commissioner John King also announced a run, but ended his bid on Thursday.

Trump and Kemp have a turbulent political history. 

Trump backed the then-Georgia secretary of state in his successful 2018 campaign for governor.

But during the two years after his 2020 election defeat to former President Joe Biden, which included a razor-thin loss in Georgia, Trump attacked Kemp for failing to overturn the election results in his state. 

Trump toned down the criticism in 2022 after Kemp crushed Trump-backed former Sen. David Perdue in the state’s GOP gubernatorial primary, as Kemp successfully cruised to re-election to a second term as governor.

KEMP SPEAKS OUT AFTER TRUMP FLIPS AND PRAISES THE GEORGIA GOVERNOR

But last summer, amid the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump went on a 10-minute tirade against Kemp at a rally in Atlanta just blocks from the Georgia State Capitol. Trump blamed the governor not only for failing to overturn the 2020 vote count but also for not stopping a county prosecutor from indicting the former president for his attempts to reverse the results.

Trump quickly changed his tune on Kemp days later, and praised the governor in a social media post “for all of your help and support in Georgia, where a win is so important to the success of our Party and, most importantly, our Country.”

Kemp, in a Fox News Digital interview a few days later, downplayed Trump’s tirade against him, calling it a “small distraction that’s in the past.”

As Dooley moves closer to launching a campaign, Collins is just days from declaring his candidacy.

Collins, a businessman who founded a trucking company, is in his second term representing Georgia’s 10th Congressional District, which includes a large swath of urban, suburban, and rural areas between Atlanta and Augusta.

The conservative lawmaker, who’s the son of the late Republican Rep. Mac Collins of Georgia, has been moving closer to launching a Senate campaign for weeks.

Collins was an early backer of the president, supporting him as Trump first ran for the Republican presidential nomination in the 2016 cycle.

Collins at the beginning of this year reintroduced the Laken Riley Act, which mandates that undocumented immigrants charged with burglary or theft be detained. It’s named after a Georgia nursing student killed by a man who had illegally entered the U.S. The case grabbed national attention.

The bill, which quickly passed the Republican-controlled House and Senate, became the first legislation signed into law by Trump as he started his second tour of duty in the White House.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

A Republican source said that Collins has a “great relationship” with the president and his political team.

And a Georgia-based Republican consultant told Fox News that “the lane that Mike is going to run in is the America First fighter who’s been with President Trump.

Carter is also courting a Trump endorsement in the GOP primary.

EXCLUSIVE: A pro-life group is celebrating a “tremendous victory” after Planned Parenthood announced two of its facilities in Houston, Texas, will be shutting down this fall, as Republican lawmakers continue to target the organization.

In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, 40 Days for Life CEO and founder Shawn Carney, a Houston resident, expressed “both personal and professional elation” at the shuttering of the facilities, including the 78,000-square-foot clinic that he said was the largest abortion facility in the Western Hemisphere.

“This is massive news for the pro-life movement and shows the direction that Planned Parenthood is going, which is down,” Carney said.

Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast — which runs six clinics in the Houston area and two in Louisiana — will close its Prevention Park and Southwest centers on Sept. 30, while the other Houston facilities will be acquired by the organization’s largest Texas affiliate.

FEDERAL JUDGE PARTIALLY BLOCKS LAW BANNING ADULTS FROM HELPING MINORS GET OUT-OF-STATE ABORTIONS

This comes amid several closures of Planned Parenthood facilities in various states, including New York, where the organization is selling its only Manhattan health center building for $39 million.

Facilities in GOP-led states with abortion restrictions, including Texas, have also been forced to cease procedures following the 2022 Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe V. Wade and sent decisions regarding abortion back to the states.

“Now they are closing the largest abortion facility in the world,” Carney said. “Their flagship. They’re very proud of it in Houston, Texas. They’re finally closing it, and it’s unbelievable.”

The company cited rising costs, staffing shortages and low reimbursement rates as the reasons for closing the two Houston facilities. GOP officials in recent years have made repeated attempts to shut down Planned Parenthood, even after nearly all abortions were banned under Texas law.

The Trump administration has sought to impose funding cuts to Planned Parenthood that could lead to the closure of additional facilities. A provision in a GOP-backed bill would end Medicaid payments for one year to abortion providers that received more than $800,000 from the program in 2023.

A judge granted a preliminary injunction earlier this week blocking the government from cutting Medicaid payments to Planned Parenthood member organizations that either do not provide abortions or did not meet a threshold of at least $800,000 in Medicaid reimbursements in a given year.

Carney said 40 Days for Life has prayed and held vigils outside the Houston mega-facility since 2006.

“Countless people have gone out, offered alternatives. We’ve had pro-life buses outside to do free ultrasounds. There have been so many lives saved, but to be honest, it just seemed like they were Goliath and it didn’t matter if we were David,” he said, adding that the “behemoth” facility even provided late-term abortions at one point. “They were just going to always be open and always be victorious.”

FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION FROM DEFUNDING SOME PLANNED PARENTHOOD FACILITIES 

Carney described the closing of the facilities as a “tremendous victory” for the pro-life movement and said it represents “one of the biggest victories that we’ve had” following the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

“Planned Parenthood has always been very top-heavy in D.C., and that’s been a weakness for the pro-life movement. But once [the court] sent it back to the states, it was sending it back to the place where the pro-life movement was the strongest, which was the grassroots,” he said.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The closure of the two Houston facilities shows “more than anything else” that “the pro-life movement is built for a post-Roe America,” Carney said, adding that Planned Parenthood is not a “monster that can’t go away.”

“They are very, very vulnerable. When you look at the New York closing and the Houston closing, this is what that represents. All the nonsense about other services and serving women and helping low-income women. Because when you take away abortions or you offer alternatives, they close, and they close their most prosperous locations,” he said.