NationalWatch

Democratic Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass faced backlash on social media Friday, including from members of the Trump administration, for pushing back on Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids targeting illegal immigrants in her city. 

“This morning, we received reports of federal immigration enforcement actions in multiple locations in Los Angeles,” Bass said in a statement on Friday. 

“As Mayor of a proud city of immigrants, who contribute to our city in so many ways, I am deeply angered by what has taken place. These tactics sow terror in our communities and disrupt basic principles of safety in our city. My Office is in close coordination with immigrant rights community organizations. We will not stand for this.”

The mayor’s statement, which garnered over two million impressions on X, drew immediate pushback from conservatives, with many pointing out criticisms of her leadership, preparedness, and response to the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles earlier this year that killed 30 people. 

ICE SWEEPS THROUGH LA BUSINESSES AS LOCAL DEMOCRATS CRY FOUL OVER TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS

“You have no say in this at all,” White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller posted on X. “Federal law is supreme and federal law will be enforced.”

“It’s amazing the number of elected officials who don’t grasp the basics of federalism, or federal sovereignty over immigration issues, or the First Amendment,” Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Justice Harmeet Dhillon posted on X. 

“They’re Illegals,” Deputy Assistant to the President Sebastian Gorka posted on X. “Not ‘immigrants.’ One just tried to burn Americans alive in Boulder. If you’re aiding and abetting them you’re a criminal too. Are you ready to be treated as a criminal? Because we are ready to treat you as one if you commit a crime.”

“Can’t get permits for people to rebuild their homes after a wildfire, but focused like a laser beam on stopping immigration enforcement,” Red State writer Bonchie posted on X. 

ICE BREAKS ARREST RECORD TWO DAYS IN A ROW UNDER TRUMP’S NEW IMMIGRATION DIRECTIVES

“Communist sympathizer Karen Bass takes the side of illegal alien criminals vs. American citizens,” conservative communicator Steve Guest posted on X. “To think, she was almost Biden’s VP pick.”

“LA Mayor Karen Bass promises to protect illegals in her city,” conservative influencer account LibsofTikTok posted on X. “Obstructing or impeding ICE operations is a crime.”

“If only Karen Bass fought against the Los Angeles fires like she fights for illegal aliens,” GOP Rep. Darrell Issa posted on X. 

The Associated Press reported that immigration advocates confirmed at least 45 people had been arrested across seven locations. The locations included two Home Depot stores, a store in the fashion district and a doughnut shop, according to Angelica Salas, the executive director of the Coalition of Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), who spoke at an afternoon news conference to denounce the actions.

Videos of the operations taken by bystanders and TV news crews showed people being escorted across a Home Depot parking lot by federal agents. The videos also captured clashes between protesters and federal agents at detention sites.

KAREN BASS’S FORMER DEPUTY MAYOR OF PUBLIC SAFETY ADMITS BOMB THREAT HOAX TARGETING LOS ANGELES CITY HALL

As the protests grew on Friday evening, and law enforcement in riot gear had to be brought in to calm the crowds, Bass drew even more criticism online from users accusing her of stirring up protesters.

“Karen Bass whipped all of this up,” Special Presidential Envoy for Special Missions of United States Ric Grenell posted on X. “She attacked the rule of law. She undermined democracy. The @MayorOfLA is creating chaos in LA.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the mayor’s office for comment.

Adding to the controversy, the Los Angeles Police Department issued a statement that it was not getting involved with deportations or immigration enforcement.

“Today the LAPD became aware that federal law enforcement agencies conducted activities in the City of Los Angeles. I’m aware that these actions cause anxiety for many Angelenos, so I want to make it clear: the LAPD is not involved in civil immigration enforcement,” LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said in a statement posted on X.

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“While the LAPD will continue to have a visible presence in all our communities to ensure public safety, we will not assist or participate in any sort of mass deportations, nor will the LAPD try to determine an individual’s immigration status.”

That position drew criticism on social media, including from Assistant Secretary Dept. of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin. 

“Assaulting ICE enforcement officers, slashing tires, defacing buildings,” she posted. “800 protestors have surrounded and breached the first layer of a federal law enforcement building in LA. @LAPD
has not responded. This violence against  @ICEgov must stop.”

“We will not stand for THIS,” McLaughlin said in a Saturday morning post that included photos of graffiti from rioters at the scene with messages like “KILL ICE” and “F*** ICE.”

Guest added in another post: “The fact the LAPD has not responded is a MAJOR scandal. As this violence against federal law enforcement rages, Democrat LA Mayor Karen Bass has so far refused to restore law and order. She should step up or step aside—LA deserves a leader who defends the rule of law.”

Fox News Digital’s Greg Wehner contributed to this report

EXCLUSIVE: Veteran Democratic strategist James Carville responds to Jewish donors who no longer support the Democratic Party due to the pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University. 

“I’ve never seen a Democrat have dinner with Kanye West and Nick Fuentes,” Carville told Fox News Digital. “I’ve never seen a Democrat that endorsed the Alternative für Deutschland Party in Germany. I can point to plenty of Republicans who have.”

Carville is pouring cold water on Democratic donors’ excuse that the rise of antisemitism on college campuses, particularly at Columbia University, means they can no longer support the Democratic Party. 

“In my view, that makes no sense. You can’t be for a Democrat because they’re protesting against Biden? It’s nonsense,” Carville said. 

CARVILLE ACCUSES JEWISH DONORS OF ABANDONING DEMOCRATS FOR GOP BECAUSE THEY JUST WANT THEIR ‘F—–G TAX CUT’

College campuses became the epicenter of resistance to the war in Gaza as students across the country, a typically Democratic voting bloc, began protesting President Joe Biden during his re-election campaign last year.

COLUMBIA’S ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTERS SAY TRUMP PULLING $400M IN GRANTS FROM UNIVERSITY IS A ‘SCARE TACTIC’

Before Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed Harris, students chanted, “Genocide Joe has got to go!” outside his campaign rallies in critical swing states and organized protest votes to express their disapproval of the United States’ support for Israel in the war against Hamas. 

Last month, President Donald Trump’s administration accused Columbia University of violating federal law through its “deliberate indifference” toward anti-Israel protests that have persisted on campus since Oct. 7, 2023. 

But Carville, speaking to Fox News Digital about recent comments on his podcast, said it makes no sense for Jewish donors to turn away from the Democratic Party because of protesters at Columbia.

Carville said it is the Democratic Party – not the Republican Party – that has historically supported Israel. 

“I would tell my Republican friends, which president was instrumental in the founding of the state of Israel? I happen to know Harry Truman. I happen to know he’s a Democrat,” Carville said. 

“Which president came closest to achieving Middle East peace and security for the state of Israel? I happen to know his name was Bill Clinton,” he added. 

“Which president installed the Iron Dome, which saved, I don’t know, how many thousands of Israeli lives? I happen to know Barack Obama. So, when you’re looking at who is more supportive of the state of Israel, it’s not even close,” Carville told Fox News Digital. 

Carville drew a stark contrast with the Republican Party as he criticized Trump for dining with Kanye West, who is infamous for making antisemitic comments, and Nicholas Fuentes, considered a “white supremacist, Holocaust denier who hates Jews” by the American Jewish Committee. 

The longtime Democratic strategist also criticized Elon Musk, who until this week was a loyal Trump confidant and a “special government employee,” for endorsing the Alternative for Germany party, considered a “confirmed extremist” group by Germany’s domestic intelligence agency. 

Carville said on his podcast, “Politics War Room,” this week that those Jewish donors are most likely embracing the Republican Party because they want their “f—ing tax cut.”

Speaking with Fox News Digital, Carville reiterated that Columbia University protests weren’t a very good excuse for abandoning the Democratic Party. 

But the White House rejected Carville’s perception of the Republican Party. 

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“President Trump received unprecedented support from the Jewish community in his historic re-election, and this support continues to grow as he combats the left’s rampant anti-Semitism that is exposed daily. The Trump administration is the most pro-Israel and pro-Jewish in our nation’s history, and the President’s record stands as a testament to this commitment,” White House spokesperson Harrison Fields told Fox News Digital. 

Trump signed executive orders during his first administration, and again last month, aimed at combating antisemitism in the United States. 

Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Pritchett and Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report.

From bringing the heat to retreating on the beef.

Elon Musk appears to be backtracking on some of the wild accusations he made during his ugly spat with President Donald Trump earlier this week.

Musk sensationally posted on Thursday that the president’s name appears in unreleased Jeffrey Epstein files — and said that’s why the files haven’t been made public.

“@RealDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files,” Musk wrote on X. “That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!”

Musk followed the post with another, saying, “Mark this post for the future. The truth will come out.”

PRESIDENT TRUMP TEASES ‘LAST DAY, BUT NOT REALLY’ FOR ELON MUSK AT DOGE: OVAL OFFICE PRESSER SET FOR FRIDAY

But eagle-eyed online sleuths noticed that Musk had quietly deleted the posts.

The former “First Buddy” dropped the allegation in response to a back-and-forth series of social media messages between him and Trump. But as of today, the post has been removed from the Tesla CEO’s timeline. 

The post wasn’t the only one he deleted: Musk also appears to have taken down a post endorsing a message that read, “Trump should be impeached” and that Vance “should replace him.”

Musk shared the post and wrote “yes,” but his comment is no longer visible. 

The beef between Musk and Trump exploded onto the national scene this week with the SpaceX CEO publicly blasting Trump’s major legislation, the Big Beautiful bill, for increasing the deficit by around $2.5 trillion.  

The feud came despite a months-long “bromance” between the pair, with Musk donating around $277 million to Trump’s campaign and enthusiastically supporting his return to office. Trump’s return to office also saw Musk oversee the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) for months. 

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in the aftermath of Musk’s post that it was an “unfortunate episode from Elon, who is unhappy with the One Big Beautiful Bill because it does not include the policies he wanted.”

JEFFREY EPSTEIN LIST: AG PAM BONDI RELEASES HIGHLY ANTICIPATED DOJ DOCUMENTS

The White House said a source familiar with the Epstein matter said it is widely known that Trump kicked Epstein out of his Palm Beach Golf Club.

The source also pointed out that the administration released the Epstein files, which included Trump’s name, and nothing was new about Musk’s revelation.

“If Elon truly thought the President was more deeply involved with Epstein, why did he hang out with him for 6 months and say he ‘loves him as much as a straight man can love a straight man?'” the source said.

Musk’s bombshell allegation against Trump comes months after a trove of files pertaining to the Epstein case were released.

In February, Attorney General Pam Bondi sent a letter to FBI Director Kash Patel explaining the delay in the release of documents and placing blame on an FBI field office in New York.

Bondi said she requested the full Epstein case file before Patel was confirmed as the head of the FBI and received about 200 pages — far fewer than the number of pages released last year in a civil lawsuit connected to Ghisalaine Maxwell, the trafficker’s former lover and convicted accomplice.

Although Bondi pushed for the release of the full dossier, which included records, documents, audio and video recordings, and materials related to Epstein and his clients, the request remains unfulfilled.

One of the key pieces that remains unreleased is a client list, though Bondi claimed in February it was on her desk to be reviewed.

The documents that have been released so far include flight logs, an evidence list, a contact book and a redacted “masseuse list” believed to refer to Epstein’s victims.

Many people named in the documents have never been accused of Epstein-related wrongdoing. However, some have, like Maxwell; Prince Andrew, who has denied allegations of wrongdoing; and Jean-Luc Brunel, a French modeling agent who, like Epstein, died in a jail awaiting trial.

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Epstein, Maxwell and unnamed co-conspirators allegedly abused young women and underage girls between 1996 and his death in 2019, according to the lawsuit. Citing police documents, it alleges that Epstein recruited girls between 14 and 16 as well as students at Palm Beach Community College for “sex-tinged sessions.”

Maxwell is appealing her conviction while serving a sentence at a federal prison in Tallahassee. She is due for release in the summer of 2037.

Fox News Digital’s Andrew Mark Miller and Mike Ruiz contributed to this report.

Elon Musk appeared to jokingly reconsider his stance on the Big Beautiful Bill after a California Democrat came to his defense.

Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., wrote on X that “I can’t believe I’m saying this – but [Elon Musk] is right.” However, that seems to be the last point on which the two agree. They both object to the Big Beautiful Bill, viewing it as full of pork. Musk opposes the bill because he believes it raises government spending too much, while Schiff objects to what he calls its “far-right” content, which he describes as “dangerous.”

REPUBLICAN LAWMAKERS STAND FIRM AGAINST MUSK’S ‘KILL THE BILL’ ASSAULT ON TRUMP’S AGENDA

Musk fired off a response rejecting Schiff’s alleged praise of the tech billionaire’s position on the bill.

“Hmm, few things could convince me to reconsider my position more than Adam Schiff agreeing with me!”

On May 30, Musk’s time with the administration came to an end, and he seemed to leave things on good terms. President Donald Trump thanked Musk for his work with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and gave him a symbolic “key to the White House” as a parting gift. 

Following his departure from the White House, Musk said he was looking forward “to continuing to be a friend and adviser to the president.” However, things took a sharp turn as a feud between Trump and Musk quickly heated up after the Tesla founder began publicly criticizing the Big Beautiful Bill. 

INSIDE THE MUSK-TRUMP FALLOUT

After the legislation passed the House, Musk said that the “massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. “Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.”

Musk’s criticisms received mixed reactions from Republicans, with some — such as Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. — agreeing with him. Meanwhile, House Speaker Mike Johnson said he was “surprised” by Musk’s reaction and claimed the two of them had a good discussion about the bill.

Trump and Musk then began slugging it out on their respective social media platforms — X and Truth Social — as well as TV. The president told reporters in the Oval Office that he was “very disappointed” with Musk and claimed that the former DOGE head knew what was in the bill, something that Musk denied. 

TRUMP NOT INTERESTED IN TALKING TO MUSK: ‘ELON’S TOTALLY LOST IT’

The heated exchange led to two explosive tweets, both of which were later deleted. In one post, Musk claimed Trump was mentioned in files relating to Jeffrey Epstein, the deceased sex offender and disgraced financier. In his other post, Musk endorsed a message that called for Trump’s impeachment and said that Vice President J.D. Vance should take over.

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While it’s unclear whether Trump and Musk will reconcile, for now it seems unlikely. Trump told Fox News chief political anchor Bret Baier that he was not interested in talking to Musk and that “Elon’s totally lost it.”

President Donald Trump warned on Saturday that there would be “serious consequences” for Elon Musk if he were to fund Democratic candidates. The president made the remark during a phone interview with NBC News.

“If he does, he’ll have to pay the consequences for that,” Trump told NBC News. However, according to the outlet, Trump did not detail what the consequences would be.

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

FIRST ON FOX: A House committee witness who was called out by Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia of California during a hearing this week is pushing back after the congressman unearthed a past social media post on Social Security in an attempt to discredit his testimony. 

During a House oversight DOGE subcommittee hearing on Wednesday, Garcia grilled Power the Future CEO Dan Turner while holding up a posterboard of a past tweet calling Social Security a “government-sponsored Ponzi scheme.”

“Madoff went to jail for it. Congress runs on it,” the post said. “I should be able to keep 100% of my money and not watch government waste it with a paltry percentage return.”

Garcia then suggested that post was evidence that Turner lacks the credibility to be testifying about the billions of federal tax dollars directed to left-wing NGOs. 

SOCIAL SECURITY COMMISSIONER BREAKS DOWN PLAN TO SAVE AGENCY FROM INSOLVENCY

“A Ponzi scheme and so I think it’s interesting, of course, as one of our Republican witnesses is calling Social Security a Ponzi scheme, and that’s the person that we should be taking advice from here today,” Garcia said. 

“Without Social Security, 22 million people would be pushed into poverty. That includes over 16 million seniors and nearly 1 million children. And in fact, Elon Musk has also said and agreed with you, sir, that this is a Ponzi scheme. I think it’s ironic that you are one of our witnesses talking about efficiency when you want to attack the single best program that we have to support people not just out of poverty, but across this country to uplift them, to ensure they can afford a decent life.”

Fox News Digital spoke to Turner, who stood by his post and outlined his belief, echoed by many, that Social Security is structured like a Ponzi scheme by definition. 

SEN ELIZABETH WARREN: SOCIAL SECURITY IS UNDER ATTACK. GUTTING IT IS A BROKEN PROMISE

“Rep Garcia does not know the definition of Ponzi scheme,” Turner said. “Social Security is the ultimate Ponzi, demanding more and more people at the bottom pay in to fund the people at the top, expect our demographics have this now reversed. The system will default. Mr. Garcia nor I will likely never see a dime. That should worry him more than my social media feed.”

Turner told Fox News Digital that if Garcia’s staff were to spend as much time trying to save Social Security as it did “combing through my social media” then “perhaps the Ponzi scheme can survive long enough for me to get a small percentage of what the government confiscated during my lifetime.”

Turner explained that his father had received a “paltry percentage” of what he paid into the program and the the government “kept the rest” when his father died. 

“That’s not just a Ponzi scheme, it’s government greed and politicians running a money-laundering operation to get reelected. No one should be compelled to pay into a failed system, yet in a free America, you don’t have that choice.”

In addition to Turner and Elon Musk suggesting that Social Security is by definition set up like a Ponzi scheme, Fox News Digital previously spoke to James Agresti, president of the nonprofit research institute Just Facts, who said the characterization has “validity.”

‘FAILURE’S NOT AN OPTION’: TRUMP BUDGET BILL WILL BE ‘BIG’ HELP FOR SENIORS, TOP HOUSE TAX-WRITER SAYS

“A Ponzi scheme operates by taking money from new investors to pay current investors,” Agresti said. “That’s the definition given by the SEC, and contrary to popular belief, that’s exactly how Social Security operates.”

Agresti explained to Fox News Digital that Social Security, a program mired for decades with concerns about waste, fraud, and improper payments, “doesn’t take our money and save it for us, as many people believe, and then give it to us when we’re older” like many Americans might believe. 

“What it does is, it transfers money when we are young and working and paying into Social Security taxes,” Agresti said. “That money, the vast bulk of it, goes immediately out the door to people who are currently receiving benefits. Now, there is a trust fund, but in 90 years of operation, that trust fund currently has enough money to fund two years of program operations.”

The trust fund only being able to last for two years is not a result of the fund being “looted,” Agresti explained, but rather it was put in place to “put surpluses in it” from money that Social Security collects in taxes that it doesn’t pay out immediately and pays interest on. 

“The interest that’s been paid on that has been higher than the rate of inflation,” Agresti said. “So, the problem isn’t that the trust fund has been looted. The problem is that Social Security operates like a Ponzi scheme.”

Democrats have vocally pushed back against efforts by Republicans and DOGE to reform Social Security or make cuts to what they say are examples of wasteful or improper spending from the department.

“There’s been a lot of misinformation about that as of late,” Agresti told Fox News Digital. “You know, when DOGE came in and suggested that the Social Security Administration cut, I think it was about 10,000 workers, Democrats erupted that this is going to weaken Social Security. But the fact of the matter is that Social Security pays those workers who are for administrative overhead from the Social Security trust fund. So, by cutting out the money that they’re paying them, you actually strengthen the program financially.”

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Agresti told Fox News Digital that the current administrative overhead for Social Security is $6.7 billion per year, which is enough to pay more than 300,000 retirees the average old-age benefit.

“Every single study shows social security going completely bankrupt in the next few years. Garcia and other democrats know the iceberg is ahead but rather than turn the ship, they are yelling at the iceberg about the senior citizens onboard,” Turner said. “This Ponzi scheme is collapsing fast, and turning my tweets into posters is not going to stop it.”

Progressive group “Indivisible,” which was behind many of the Tesla protests in recent months as well as mobilizing for other far-left causes, appears to now be getting involved in a key congressional swing district with the goal of growing resistance against President Donald Trump in Congress.

With primary races already underway for the 2026 Midterm elections, the group appears to have in their sights Rep. Mike Lawler, a Republican in a critical swing state representing New York’s 17th District, in the form of a candidate with extensive ties to the group, progressive Democrat and Rockland County legislator Beth Davidson. 

Davidson’s social media presence includes several posts promoting Indivisible, including attending an event in June in Rockland, New York and Davidson was featured in a promotional video for Indivisible Northern Westchester that same month. 

Indivisible has been front and center in other aspects of the race and local chapters of the group helped to organize protests at Lawler town hall events in April and May.

AOC BACKS RISING PROGRESSIVE CANDIDATE IN NYC DEM PRIMARY IN PUSH TO DEFEAT FRONTRUNNER CUOMO

Fox News Digital reported on local Indivisible chapter leaders in Rockland planning an anti-Lawler protest in April. Footage obtained by Fox News Digital of the meeting showed organizing committee leader Pascale Jean-Gilles discussing filling the entire street in front of the event.

“It is a long street, and we’re trying to fill the entire street, so everyone coming into the rally will see people there and recognize it’s not going to be all, like, sunshine and daisies,” Jean-Gilles said.  

Ahead of the event, Davidson indicated that over a thousand protesters would attend the demonstration, saying on X: “Please pass him a note that 1100 or so of his ‘friends’ are excited to see him in my county legislative district tomorrow!”

At another Indivisible protest against Lawler earlier in the month, Davidson posted on X that she was “proud to stand with more than 1,000 people at the #HandsOff rally organized by @IndivisWstchr @1199seiu @nwindivisible@cwaunion and more to stand up for our freedoms and our future!”

“Mike Lawler may be silent on the daily assaults on healthcare, education, social security and national security, but We the People are NOT!” said Davidson.

HOUSE DEMS’ CAMPAIGN CHAIR SAYS HER PARTY’S ‘ON OFFENSE’ IN 2026 BATTLE TO WIN BACK MAJORITY FROM GOP

Davidson congratulated Indivisible Rockland for a “packed event” in April 2025 after speaking at one of their events a month earlier, accusing Lawler of hiding from his constituents. 

Bill Batson, a member of the Indivisible Rockland steering committee, gave $250 to Davidson’s campaign via his own campaign committee, FEC records show. 

In response to Indivisible and Davidson’s apparent collaboration, National Republican Congressional Committee spokesperson Maureen O’Toole accused the group of “infiltrating” congressional races to undermine Trump’s agenda.

“Indivisible has a new plan: stop shouting outside congressional offices and start infiltrating them,” said O’Toole. “Their first attempt? NY-17, where they’re backing far-left extremist Beth Davidson to carry out their agenda.”

Indivisible was founded in response to Trump’s election in 2016, according to its website. The group’s website says that they were “brought together by a practical guide to resist the Trump agenda, Indivisible is a movement of thousands of group leaders and more than a million members taking regular, iterative, and increasingly complex actions to resist the GOPs agenda, elect local champions, and fight for progressive policies.”

Indivisible’s presence at Tesla protests nationwide, according to a Washington Free Beacon report, included a “reimbursement program” for local activists that showed up at the protests.

Indivisible, a group that has received more than $7 million from the George Soros network since 2017, according to the New York Post, has also been involved in protests calling to “abolish” ICE. 

The group has also promoted defunding the police. 

Earlier this year, Indivisible published a “tool kit” with recommendations for protesting at town halls and lawmakers’ district offices. A section on how to “take the fight to Elon” includes steps for planning and executing a demonstration at Tesla dealerships, showrooms and factories for Elon Musk’s role as then-head of the Department of Government Efficiency.

While many of the protests outside Tesla dealerships were peaceful, the anti-Musk effort resulted in several instances of violence that the Department of Justice labeled “domestic terrorism”, including acts of arson. 

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Lawler campaign spokesperson Chris Russell, called Davidson’s association with Indivisible “disgraceful.”

“They’ve had Nazi imagery and antisemitic tropes at their rallies and promoted a baseless election denialism conspiracy theory rooted in antisemitism on their website. I’m demanding she denounce them immediately, this dangerous rhetoric will lead to more violence and threatens our democracy.”

Davidson condemned the imagery at the rally she attended in a post on X in March saying, “To be clear, I absolutely condemn the imagery of that poster. I will always be a voice against anti-Semitism and for my Jewish community. It’s time for Mike Lawler to stop weaponizing antisemitism for his own political gain and stop using the Jewish community — my community, not his — as political pawns.”

Lawler responded on X making the case that Davidson’s statement did not go far enough. 

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Fox News Digital reached out to the Davidson campaign for comment on this story. 

Davidson has been endorsed by Mondaire Jones, a progressive who is the last Democrat to hold Lawler’s seat. 

The race for NY-17 will be one of the most closely watched in the country as Republicans attempt to preserve their razor-thin majority in Congress, which historically has proven difficult for the party in power following a new president taking office.

The Cook Political Report ranks the race, where Davidson is one of several Democrats running in the primary, as “Lean Republican.”

Fox News Digital’s Liz Elkind contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump and SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk engaged in a public feud Thursday, less than a week after the White House held a farewell press conference for Musk highlighting his contributions spearheading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Musk departed his tenure as a special government employee with DOGE May 30, but swiftly launched into criticisms of Trump’s massive tax and spending package dubbed the “big, beautiful, bill.” Tuesday, Musk labeled the measure a “disgusting abomination” because of reports it ramps up the federal deficit.

On Thursday, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that Musk opposed the bill because it eliminates an electric vehicle tax credit that benefits companies like Tesla. But Trump said that provision has always been part of the measure. 

“I’m very disappointed, because Elon knew the inner workings of this bill better than almost anybody sitting here, better than you people,” Trump said in the Oval Office in a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. “He knew everything about it. He had no problem with it. All of a sudden he had a problem, and he only developed the problem when he found out that we’re going to have to cut the EV mandate, because that’s billions and billions of dollars, and it really is unfair.”

TRUMP NOT INTERESTED IN TALKING TO MUSK: ‘ELON’S TOTALLY LOST IT’

Musk immediately responded on X to Trump’s statements, urging a removal of the “disgusting pork” included in the measure. He also said it was “false” that he had been shown the measure “even once.”

The two continued to publicly spar against one another, with Musk asserting that Trump wouldn’t have won the 2024 election if it weren’t for his own backing. Meanwhile, Trump accused Musk of going “CRAZY” over cuts to the EV credits, and said that Musk had been “wearing thin.” 

Additionally, Trump told Fox News on Friday that “Elon’s totally lost it” and was not interested in speaking over the phone with Musk, despite media reports suggesting that the two would talk. 

Here’s what also happened this week: 

Visit with the chancellor of Germany

Chancellor of Germany Friedrich Merz met with Trump at the White House Thursday, where the two discussed the war in Ukraine. 

While Merz asserted that the U.S. was in a powerful spot to bring a meaningful end to the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, Trump offered that the world might need to “let them fight for a little while.”

“America is again in a very strong position to do something on this war and ending this war,” Merz said. 

MERZ SAYS US IN A ‘STRONG POSITION’ TO STOP PUTIN

Merz said that Germany was willing to help however it could, and wanted to discuss options to partner with the U.S. to bring peace. Likewise, Merz suggested that European allies exert additional pressure on Russia to end the conflict. 

But Trump said that he told Putin in a recent call that perhaps both countries would need to feel the consequences of fighting more acutely, claiming he had told Putin “maybe you’re going to have to keep fighting and suffering a lot.”

“Sometimes you see two young children fighting like crazy – they hate each other, and they’re fighting in a park, and you try and pull them apart, they don’t want to be pulled,” Trump said.  “Sometimes you’re better off letting them fight for a while and then pulling them apart.”

Call with Xi

Trump spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping Thursday to discuss trade negotiations between Washington and Beijing. 

“I just concluded a very good phone call with President Xi, of China, discussing some of the intricacies of our recently made, and agreed to, Trade Deal,” Trump said Thursday in a Truth Social post. “The call lasted approximately one and a half hours, and resulted in a very positive conclusion for both Countries.”

Trump said the conversation had focused “almost entirely” on trade, and that Xi had invited the U.S. president and first lady Melania Trump to visit China. Likewise, Trump reciprocated and invited Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, to visit the U.S. 

TRUMP TOUTS ‘VERY POSITIVE’ BREAKTHROUGH WITH XI AFTER SLAMMING CHINA FOR TRADE VIOLATION

The call comes nearly a week after Trump condemned China on May 30 for violating an initial trade agreement that the U.S. and China had hashed out in May. And on Wednesday, Trump said Xi was “extremely hard to make a deal with” in a Truth Social post. 

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The negotiations from May prompted both countries to agree that the U.S. would lower its tariffs against Chinese imports from 145% to 30%, and China would reduce its tariffs against U.S. imports from 125% to 10%.

Fox News’ Caitlin McFall contributed to this report. 

The fallout between Elon Musk and President Donald Trump is an evolving situation marked by a public blowup on Thursday, but their relationship ties back to Trump’s first term and even earlier.

A November 2016 CNBC interview with the Tesla CEO, who’s now the richest man in the world, took a critical tone of the now president just days before he was elected president in an upset that signified the strength of the populist movement. 

“Honestly, I think Hillary’s economic policies and her environmental policies particularly are the right ones, you know, but yeah. Also, I don’t think this is the finest moment in our democracy at all,” Musk said.

“Well, I feel a bit stronger that probably he’s not the right guy. He just doesn’t seem to have the sort of character that reflects well on the United States,” he later added in the interview.  

‘KILL BILL’: ELON MUSK’S CONSERVATIVE EVOLUTION PUTS HIM AT ODDS WITH TRUMP ON KEY LEGISLATION

During Trump’s first term, Musk was part of some of his economic advisory councils, which often includes CEOs, but ultimately left his post because he disagreed with the president’s move to exit the Paris Climate Accords.

“Am departing presidential councils. Climate change is real. Leaving Paris is not good for America or the world,” Musk posted at the time.

The two continued to have an on-and-off relationship, but there were some positive signs in May 2020.

“Elon Musk, congratulations.  Congratulations, Elon. Thanks, Elon. For Elon and 8,000 SpaceX employees, today is the fulfillment of a dream almost two decades in the making,” Trump said at the Kennedy Space Center in May 2020.

And at the SpaceX Demo-2 launch, Trump said he and Musk communicate regularly.

“Well, I won’t get into it.  But, yeah — but I speak to him all the time.  Great guy.  He’s one of our great brains.  We like great brains.  And Elon has done a fantastic job,” he said.

ELON MUSK’S NET WORTH PLUMMETS BY $34B AMID ESCALATING FEUD WITH PRESIDENT TRUMP

Fast forward to 2022, when Musk purchased Twitter and renamed it X, and brought back Trump’s account that November, after it was suspended after the events of Jan. 6, 2021. In 2022, Musk also announced that he would vote Republican, but indicated he would back Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis if he opted to seek the nomination.

DeSantis launched his campaign on X in a “space,” a virtual public event forum, with Musk, who also reportedly significantly financially backed the Florida governor, according to The Wall Street Journal.

However, a major turning point was in July 2024, after the assassination attempt of Trump at a rally in Butler, Penn.

“I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery,” Musk posted.

Musk then campaigned for the president, including a famous moment when he was jumping on stage at his comeback rally in Butler.

WOULD DONALD TRUMP HAVE WON THE 2024 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION WITHOUT ELON MUSK’S HELP?

“I want to say what an honor it is to be here and, you know, the true test of someone’s character is how they behave under fire, right?” Musk said at the rally. “And we had one president who couldn’t climb a flight of stairs and another who was fist pumping after getting shot.”

“This is no ordinary election,” the tech CEO continued. “The other side wants to take away your freedom of speech.”

“Just be a pest to everyone,” he added. “You know, people on the street everywhere: Vote, vote, vote!”

The tech billionaire spent roughly $300 million through America PAC to boost swing state voter efforts, including Pennsylvania. 

By the time the presidential election rolled around, Trump and Musk appeared to be close friends as the Tesla CEO was with Trump in Mar-a-Lago on election night. Over the next few days, Musk remained in Florida and was reportedly advising Trump on appointments and policy as the transition to a new administration kicked off. 

A week later, shortly before Musk and the new president appeared at a SpaceX launch together in Texas, Trump announced that Musk and tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy would be heading up the Department of Government Efficiency in an effort to rid the government of waste, fraud, and abuse. 

Trump described the pair as “two wonderful Americans’ and although Ramaswamy left that post in January and is now running for governor in Ohio, Musk stayed on and quickly became the face of an agency that made him the main target of attacks from Democrats pushing back on spending cuts that they argued were too drastic.

Protests erupted nationwide against Musk and DOGE including violent outbursts at his Tesla dealerships that tanked the company’s stock and were labeled as acts of “domestic terrorism” by the Justice Department. 

FLASHBACK: TOP FIVE WILDEST MOMENTS FROM ELON MUSK’S DOGE TENURE AS IT COMES TO AN END

During the first few months of the year, Musk and Trump were spotted together at several viral events including a UFC fight, an Oval Office meeting where Musk’s son “Little X” stole the show, and a cabinet meeting in late February where Musk was the main focus. 

In March, Trump hosted Elon at a Tesla showcase in front of the White House amid a dip in Tesla stock where the president told reporters he was purchasing a Tesla while touting the company.

As Musk’s time at DOGE began to wind down, his employee classification allowed him to serve for 130 days, the newly formed agency had become the poster child of anti-Trump sentiment from Democrats who consistently attacked the $175 billion in spending cuts that DOGE estimated it delivered.

Signs of fracture in the relationship began showing in late May when Musk took a public shot at Trump’s “big beautiful bill” as it made its way through Congress. 

“I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not just decreases it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing,” Musk said.

Two days later, Musk announced his official departure from DOGE.

“As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President @realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending,” Musk said, adding that the effects of DOGE “will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government.”

DOGE, which fell short of Musk’s initial goal of slashing $1 trillion in spending which Musk said he still remains optimistic will happen in the future, will continue its work without Musk, who said, “I look forward to continuing to be a friend and adviser to the president.”

That optimistic tone shifted drastically on June 3 when Musk took to X, the platform he owns, and blasted the budget reconciliation bill calling it “a disgusting abomination” and criticizing the Republicans who voted for it. 

“KILL THE BILL,” Musk said the next day.

A day after that, on Thursday, the feud hit a fever pitch.

While speaking with reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said that he was “very disappointed” by Musk’s vocal criticisms of the bill. The president claimed that Musk knew what was in the bill and “had no problem” with it until the EV incentives had to be cut.

On X, Musk called that assessment “false.”

Trump turned to social media to criticize Musk, who he appointed to find ways to cut $2 trillion after forming the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

“Elon was ‘wearing thin,’ I asked him to leave, I took away his EV Mandate that forced everyone to buy Electric Cars that nobody else wanted (that he knew for months I was going to do!), and he just went CRAZY!” Trump said in one post.

In another post, Trump said, “I don’t mind Elon turning against me, but he should have done so months ago. This is one of the Greatest Bills ever presented to Congress. It’s a Record Cut in Expenses, $1.6 Trillion Dollars, and the Biggest Tax Cut ever given.”

“If this Bill doesn’t pass, there will be a 68% tax increase, and things far worse than that. I didn’t create this mess, I’m just here to FIX IT. This puts our Country on a Path of Greatness. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

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At one point, Musk referenced late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein in relation to Trump as part of the larger tirade in a comment that several Republicans told Fox News Digital went “too far.”

Other posts from Musk included a claim that Trump would not have won the election without his help while accusing Trump of “ingratitude.” In another post, Musk suggested that Trump should be impeached and replaced by Vice President Vance. 

It is unclear if a resolution to the feud is coming in the next few days. Fox News Digital reported on Friday morning that Musk wants to speak to Trump and that White House aides could possibly broker a meeting.

Trump told Fox News on Friday that he isn’t interested in talking to Musk, adding that “Elon’s totally lost it.”

Trump also said to Fox News’ Bret Baier that he isn’t worried about Musk’s suggestion to form a new political party, citing favorable polls and strong support from Republicans on Capitol Hill.

The Trump administration has taken a more aggressive approach than its predecessor toward addressing the nationwide surge in antisemitic incidents, launching investigations, punishing elite universities, and intensifying its immigration enforcement practices.

President Donald Trump, through his Department of Justice (DOJ) and other agencies, is using law-and-order tactics that his deputies say are necessary, but that critics say could constitute overreach.

Harmeet Dhillon, the DOJ’s assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division, told Fox News Digital she has not seen any “close cases” when it comes to weighing antisemitic behavior against First Amendment rights of those who oppose Israel or Judaism.

BIDEN EDUCATION DEPT PUT PRIORITY ON PRONOUNS, LEFT BACKLOG OF NEARLY 200 ANTISEMITISM COMPLAINTS: OFFICIAL

“Criticizing the government of Israel is not what I’m typically seeing here,” Dhillon said. “I’m seeing an intifada revolution. I’m seeing blocking Jewish students from crossing campuses and destroying property on campus, which is a crime. … Quiet, polite conversation and disagreement with Israeli policy is not really what’s happening here. It’s literally people saying Israel shouldn’t exist — and bringing the revolution to the United States.” 

Dhillon added that “that type of violent rhetoric has led to violent acts in our country.”

Antisemitic violence

After Hamas’s deadly terrorist attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, the FBI’s hate crime statistics showed a sharp spike in anti-Jewish incidents in the U.S. The data runs through December 2023.

Anti-Defamation League (ADL) data from 2024 and high-profile incidents this year suggest the trend is continuing.

An Egyptian national in the U.S. illegally in Boulder, Colorado, is facing state and federal charges for allegedly injuring 15 people, including elderly victims and a dog last weekend with Molotov cocktails during a peaceful pro-Israel demonstration in support of hostages being held by Hamas terrorists in Gaza.

Suspect Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, stated to authorities “he wanted to kill all Zionist people and wished they were all dead,” according to an FBI affidavit. During the attack he allegedly yelled “free Palestine,” the agent said.

In May, Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, who worked at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., were gunned down outside the Capitol Jewish Museum in D.C. 

Suspect Elias Rodriguez of Illinois shouted “free Palestine” as he was detained, and Interim U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro said her office is investigating the case as a hate crime and act of terrorism.

SUSPECT CHARGED WITH MURDERING ISRAELI EMBASSY STAFF COULD FACE DEATH PENALTY

In another incident, a man allegedly set fire to Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s residence on the first night of Passover. Emergency call logs released by local authorities revealed that the suspect, Cody Balmer, invoked Palestine after the arson and blamed Shapiro, who is Jewish, for “having my friends killed.” 

Tarek Bazrouk, who identified himself as a “Jew hater” and said Jewish people were “worthless,” allegedly carried out a series of assaults on Jewish New Yorkers in 2024 and 2025, according to an indictment brought against him in May. 

Bazrouk wore a green headband that mimicked Hamas garb and a keffiyeh during the attacks, and he celebrated Hamas and Hizballah on his social media, according to federal authorities.

Harvard and Columbia

Trump warned in an executive order at the start of his presidency that foreign nationals participating in “pro-jihadist protests” would be deported, and he specifically highlighted college campuses as being “infested with radicalism.”

Unlike the Biden administration, the Trump administration has since gone to war with elite universities, some of which have been roiled by disruptive pro-Palestinian protests that involve occupying academic buildings and installing encampments.

LEO TERRELL SAYS TRUMP ADMIN WILLING TO TAKE HARVARD ANTISEMITISM FIGHT ALL THE WAY TO SUPREME COURT

Harvard and Columbia, in particular, are now engaged in litigation after Trump moved to freeze billions of dollars in federal funding for the universities and ban Harvard’s foreign students.

The embattled schools have been successful in winning temporary pauses to Trump’s sanctions through the courts, but litigation is pending and legal experts have said they face an uphill battle.

Free speech controversies

The Trump administration has zeroed in on non-citizen students and activists who it has accused of supporting Palestinian causes in ways it deems hostile to U.S. interests.

Amid Trump’s pursuit of visa and green card holders, Mahmoud Khalil’s case has become a flashpoint.

Khalil was arrested in March and detained after the administration accused him of violating immigration laws by engaging in anti-Israel activism. 

This week, Khalil said in court papers the administration’s claims against him were “grotesque” and that his activism involved “protesting this Israeli government’s indiscriminate killing of thousands of innocent Palestinians.”

Civil rights groups have warned that the government’s hardliner posture risks violating free speech and protest rights. A coalition of 60 groups issued a joint statement this week on antisemitic hate crimes in which it warned the Trump administration not to over-correct because it would “make us all less safe.”

“As we condemn these heinous [antisemitic] acts and those who perpetrate hate and violence, we also recommit to ensuring that these events — and the legitimate fear in the Jewish community — are not exploited to justify inhumane immigration policies or to target Arab Americans and those who peacefully and nonviolently exercise their First Amendment rights in support of Palestinian human rights,” the groups said.

Dhillon told Fox News Digital: “It’s not my responsibility to balance free speech issues on campus. It’s my responsibility to enforce the federal civil rights laws. And my opinion, there’s really no conflict.”

Antisemitic task force and more

When he took office, Trump vowed in a string of executive orders to direct Attorney General Pam Bondi to “aggressively prosecute terroristic threats, arson, vandalism and violence against American Jews.” 

Trump appointees at the DOJ then moved quickly to convene an antisemitism task force. Dhillon said there is also frequent communication between the White House, the DOJ, and Jewish leaders about addressing antisemitism.

JEWISH STUDENTS WELCOME TRUMP ADMIN’S CRACKDOWN ON ANTISEMITISM, HAMAS SYMPATHIZERS ON CAMPUSES

“We have heard from the Jewish community, and I’ve probably met with — I think there’s at least two dozen rabbis who have my number on speed dial now. I literally sent three emails to rabbis in the last hour,” she said.

She said her division has opened several investigations involving land use for religious purposes under a law known as the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), including five related to Judaism. The administration is also notifying Jewish communities of grants available for added security at synagogues, and she said campuses are a “significant focus” for her.

Internal turmoil

After reports surfaced that Dhillon’s shakeup in the Civil Rights Division led to a mass exodus of more than 100 attorneys leaving the division, she told the media she was unfazed by the departures and that her focus remains on launching the division’s work toward combating antisemitism.

Testing the limits of his subordinates and the courts, another top DOJ official, Emil Bove, launched an internal investigation into Columbia student protesters early this year. The probe caused concern among line attorneys, who felt it was flimsy and was also met with multiple reprimands from a magistrate judge, according to the New York Times.

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Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement in May that the New York Times’ story was false and fed to the newspaper “by a group of people who allowed antisemitism and support of Hamas terrorists to fester for years.”

Blanche confirmed the veracity of the investigation and said it involved, in part, a probe into a Hamas-linked image on Columbia University Apartheid Divest’s social media.

Elon Musk’s fiery feud with President Donald Trump spilled onto the top Republicans in Congress, where the tech billionaire questioned if their zeal to cut spending had disappeared. 

Musk launched into a social media assault this week against Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” and accused Republicans of crafting a “disgusting abomination” full of wasteful spending. 

What started as a rant against the bill turned into pointed attacks against Trump, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. 

‘HE’S NOT A BIG FACTOR’: TRUMP’S SENATE ALLIES DISMISS ELON MUSK’S CALLS TO ‘KILL THE BILL’

The tech billionaire and former head of Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) lamented the bill as not cutting deep enough into Washington’s spending addiction. The House GOP’s offering, which is now being modified in the Senate, set a goal of $1.5 trillion in spending cuts. 

Musk set a benchmark of finding $2 trillion in waste, fraud and abuse to slash with his DOGE initiative, but fell far short, hitting only $160 billion in his four-month stint as a special government employee. 

ELON MUSK WARPATH AGAINST TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ RATTLES HOUSE GOP

Still, he came with receipts, questioning whether Trump, Thune and Johnson were actually committed to making deep cuts. 

Below are moments from the campaign trail and recent months compiled by Fox News Digital where the trio affirmed their commitment to putting a dent in the nation’s nearly $37 trillion debt. 

Trump on the trail in 2024: ‘We will stop wasteful spending’

A common theme for Trump during his 2024 presidential campaign was to go after the Biden administration, and his opponent, former Vice President Kamala Harris, for “throwing billions of dollars out the window.” 

The then-presidential candidate vowed that should he win a second term, his incoming administration would halt wasteful spending. 

“We will stop wasteful spending and big government special interest giveaways, and finally stand up for the American taxpayer, which hasn’t happened since I was president,” he said. “We stood up. Our current massive deficits will be reduced to practically nothing. Our country will be powered by growth. Our country, will be powered by growth, will pay off our debt, will have all this income coming in.”

GOP SENATORS EXPRESS ‘CONCERNS,’ ‘SKEPTICISM’ OVER TRUMP’S SPENDING BILL AFTER MUSK RANT

Thune renews promise to cut spending with Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’: ‘It does everything we set out to do’

Thune has agreed with his colleagues in the House GOP that the tax cut package needs to achieve steep savings, and believes that the Senate GOP could take those cuts a step further. After the bill advanced from the House last month, the top Senate Republican re-upped his vow to slash federal funding. 

“It does everything that we set out to do. It modernizes our military, secures our border, extends tax relief and makes permanent tax relief that will lead to economic growth and better jobs in this country, and makes America energy dominant, coupled with the biggest spending reduction in American history,” he said. “So those are our agenda items, and that’s what we campaigned on. That’s what we’re going to do.”

Johnson after the House’s passage of the budget plan: ‘What you’re going to see is a continuing theme of us identifying waste, fraud and abuse in government’

Johnson had to strike a balancing act in the House to cobble together enough support behind the legislation, and struck deals and satisfied concerned lawmakers across the spectrum of the House GOP while still setting a goal of $1.5 trillion in spending cuts. Rooting out waste, fraud and abuse has been a continued mantra of the speaker and his allies. 

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“I said this is the beginning of a process, and what you’re going to see is a continuing theme of us identifying waste, fraud and abuse in government, which is our pledge of common sense, restoring common sense and fiscal sanity,” Johnson said.  

Medicaid reform in President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” has drawn a partisan line through Congress. 

Democrats have railed against potential Medicaid cuts since Trump was elected, while Republicans have celebrated Medicaid reform through the reconciliation process as an efficient way to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse in the welfare program. 

Fox News Digital asked lawmakers from both ends of the political spectrum to react to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s Medicaid reform. The results were as expectedly divided. 

“This is all B.S., what the Democrats are doing,” Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., told Fox News Digital. “They’re pushing the agenda that we’re cutting 10 million people off Medicaid. It’s people that actually shouldn’t be on it, illegals that shouldn’t be on it. We’re reforming it.”

GOP RAILS AGAINST ‘BLATANTLY FALSE’ DEM CLAIMS ABOUT MEDICAID REFORM IN TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO), a nonpartisan federal agency that has been ridiculed by Republicans, estimated this week that Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” would leave 10.9 million people without health insurance, including 1.4 million who are in the country without legal status in state-funded programs.

But Republicans are holding firm in their defense of Medicaid reform, which Republicans say only cuts benefits to illegal immigrants, those ineligible to receive benefits who are currently receiving benefits, duplicate enrollees in one or more states and those who are able but choosing not to work. 

“The people who would not continue to get Medicaid benefits under this bill were not qualified to get them in the first place,” Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., told Fox News Digital. 

TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ FACES RESISTANCE FROM REPUBLICAN SENATORS OVER DEBT FEARS

Democrats continue to sound off on the healthcare threat of eliminating 10 million people from Medicaid. Not a single House Democrat voted to pass Trump’s championed legislation, which includes fulfilling key campaign promises like cutting taxes, immigration reform and American energy production. 

“These burdensome regulatory requirements for proving that somebody has obtained or sought work are going to mean millions of people will go without healthcare, and the restrictions on food assistance are equally an obstacle to people meeting their everyday needs,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said. 

Blumenthal added he is “very, very concerned about these seemingly cruel and unproductive ways of raising money simply to finance tax cuts” for “wealthy billionaires.”

New Jersey Democratic Sen. Andy Kim said he is happy to have an “honest conversation” about government efficiency and saving taxpayer dollars, but that’s not the reality of this bill. 

“People are struggling, and I feel like, in the richest, most powerful country in the world, we should be able to make sure that people can have the basic needs they need to be able to survive,” Kim said of Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. 

Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., told Fox News Digital there is “nothing beautiful” about Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.”

“This is horrific, and it adds massive amounts to our debt, compromising our ability to [fund] the fundamentals in the future, foundations for families to thrive — health care, housing, education, good-paying jobs. That’s what we should be doing here, not doing massive tax cuts for billionaires and paying for them by tearing down programs for ordinary families,” Merkley said. 

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The national debt stands at more than $36.2 trillion as of June 5, according to the Fox Business, based on data from the Treasury Department.

The CBO’s report this week also estimated Trump’s bill will cut taxes by $3.7 trillion while raising deficits by $2.4 trillion over a decade. 

Fox News’ Anders Hagstrom and Eric Revell contributed to this report. 

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said he hopes President Donald Trump and Elon Musk “reconcile” after a furious public feud over Republicans’ “one big, beautiful bill.”

“I was with the president in the Oval Office yesterday afternoon as some of this was unfolding, and I can tell you, as he said in his own words, he was just, he was disappointed, and I was surprised by Elon’s sudden opposition,” Johnson told reporters on Friday.

“I believe in redemption. That’s part of my worldview, and I think it’s good for the party and the country if all that’s worked out.”

Then, without addressing Musk directly, Johnson appeared to chide him for attacking Trump.

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

“I’ll tell you what, do not doubt and do not second guess and don’t ever challenge the President of the United States, Donald Trump. He is the leader of the party, he’s the most consequential political figure of this generation, in probably the modern era, and he’s doing an excellent job for the people,” Johnson said.

Asked whether he’d spoken to Musk since the tirade, Johnson said earlier Friday morning, “We exchanged texts, but I’m not going to talk about the content of it.”

Johnson also said Republicans were unfazed by the criticism coming from the tech billionaire often called the richest man in the world.

MIKE JOHNSON, DONALD TRUMP GET ‘BIG, ‘BEAUTIFUL’ WIN AS BUDGET PASSES HOUSE

“Members are not shaken at all. We are going to pass this legislation on our deadline, and we’re very bullish about it,” he said.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News Digital when asked about Johnson’s call for unity, “President Trump is focused on making our country great again and passing the One Big Beautiful Bill.”

Trump told Fox News’ Bret Baier in an interview on Friday that he was not interested in speaking with Musk, nor was he worried about Musk’s threat to launch a third political party.

“Elon’s totally lost it,” the president said.

Musk accused Republicans of not working hard enough to cut federal spending with their budget reconciliation bill, which is aimed at advancing Trump’s priorities on tax cuts, immigration, energy, defense and the debt limit.

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The Tesla CEO called out Trump, Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., all by name as well.

Republicans, for the most part, have closed ranks around Trump and their bill.

Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, Capitol Hill and more Fox News politics content.

Here’s what’s happening…

-Trump’s border wall expansion moves forward in several critical areas: ‘Crisis is not yet over’

-Trump admin asks Supreme Court to life injunction blocking dismantling of Education Dept

–Elon Musk may speak to Trump aides in push to calm feud

Has Elon ‘totally lost it?’ 

President Donald Trump told Fox News on Friday that he isn’t interested in talking to SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, adding that “Elon’s totally lost it.”

Trump also said to Fox News’ Bret Baier that he isn’t worried about Musk’s suggestion to form a new political party, citing favorable polls and strong support from Republicans on Capitol Hill.

The comments come as Musk and Trump have been arguing over social media in recent days…Read more

White House

FEUD AFTER VICTORY: Who deserves the most credit for president’s resounding 2024 White House win

TAX BATTLE ROYALE: Trump’s tariff strategy could pay for his tax bill, but only if they stick, experts warn

‘VENDETTA’: Judge temporarily blocks Trump admin’s entry ban for international Harvard students

NOT HAPPY: Biden book author reveals how White House staff truly felt about Karine Jean-Pierre as press secretary

BORDER BLITZ: Trump administration drops hammer on ‘narco sub’ cocaine ring as cartels threaten US borders

World Stage

‘BEGAN TO FEEL ILL’: South Sudan deportations have placed migrants, and ICE officials, in danger: new court filing

Capitol Hill

DEFENDING THE CUTS: House Budget chairman explains why there’s no ‘pork’ in Trump tax bill after Elon Musk attacks

POLITICS IN ORBIT: Claim Trump nixed top Musk ally from NASA post over Dem donations belied by ex-Dems on team

UNITY ON IMMIGRATION: Handful of House Democrats join Republicans in sanctuary city crackdown

‘IT’S ABSURD’: Dems who want ICE agents unmasked ‘mandated mask wearing for years’ during COVID

‘WORLD STANDARD’: Risch urges ‘top to bottom’ USAID spending review after waste, fraud exposed

Across America 

MICHIGAN GOES GUARD: After ‘agro-terror’ fungus caught in Detroit, MI House says it has best national plan to blunt CCP influence

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

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday ruled the Department of Government Efficiency could access Social Security systems with sensitive information.

The ruling blocked a lower Maryland court order that kept DOGE from seeking certain Social Security information due to federal privacy laws. 

The data from the U.S. Social Security Administration includes Social Security numbers, medical information, citizenship records, school records, and tax returns for millions of Americans. 

EXCLUSIVE: LEGAL INSTITUTE CELEBRATES SCOTUS DECISION, DECLARES ‘RELIGIOUS LIBERTY IS ALIVE AND WELL’

“We conclude that, under the present circumstances, SSA may proceed to afford members of the SSA DOGE Team access to the agency records in question in order for those members to do their work,” the court said in an unsigned order. 

The six conservative justices voted for the ruling and the three liberal justices, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor dissented. 

DOGE WILL GO ON: HILL PORK HAWK SAYS ROOTING OUT GOVERNMENT WASTE WILL CONTINUE AFTER ELON

Jackson said the ruling created “grave privacy risks” for millions of Americans by giving “unfettered data access to DOGE regardless — despite its failure to show any need or any interest in complying with existing privacy safeguards, and all before we know for sure whether federal law countenances such access.” 

The ruling came soon after DOGE’s former head, Elon Musk, left the government and a day after he and President Donald Trump traded personal attacks that were sparked by a disagreement over the president’s “Big, Beautiful” bill. 

DOGE’s path forward after Musk’s exit isn’t clear, but Trump and Musk have both previously said the newly-created agency’s work would continue. 

The Trump administration has said DOGE needs access to Social Security information to continue its core task of rooting out government waste. 

Musk has previously called Social Security a “Ponzi scheme,” and insisted on eliminating waste in the program. 

Maryland U.S. District Judge Ellen Hollander previously ruled that DOGE’s efforts with Social Security were a “fishing expedition” based on “little more than suspicion” of fraud. She did allow some access, however, to anonymous data for DOGE workers who had gone through background checks. 

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An appeals court didn’t immediately lift the block, with dissenting conservative judges saying there’s no evidence that DOGE has done any “targeted snooping” or exposed personal information.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

FIRST ON FOX: While Tesla CEO Elon Musk has departed the Department of Government Efficiency amid a blazing public tiff with the president, congressional DOGE leaders are primed to carry on the legacy well beyond his tenure.

“It’s never easy to see two friends at odds, but DOGE is bigger than any one person,” House DOGE Caucus chairman Aaron Bean, R-Fla., told Fox News Digital on Friday – expressing endearment towards both Musk and President Donald Trump.

“Our caucus, with 110 members, is laser-focused on delivering real solutions for the American people, reining in wasteful spending, demanding oversight, and ensuring every taxpayer dollar is spent wisely.”

Bean said his panel’s work rooting out government waste and streamlining the bureaucracy will continue on-track, with a major effort planned next week to change the Treasury’s payment system to curb improper disbursements.

DRAIN THE SWAMP ACT SEEKS TO MOVE DC BUREAUCRACY ‘OUT OF CRAZYTOWN’: HOUSE DOGE LEADER

The Jacksonville lawmaker said that longstanding issue has led to about $162 billion in wrongful payments every year. During his tenure, Musk also worked with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to fix systemic problems there.

The House DOGE Caucus will continue to advocate to “enact the cuts found by DOGE,” Bean went on.

The panel looks forward to working with House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to pass $9.4 billion in rescissions identified by DOGE and presented to Congress for action by OMB Director Russ Vought.

Republicans faced criticism for moving too slowly on DOGE’s proposed cuts, but GOP leadership sources said they needed either a formal request from Vought or separate bills outside the Big Beautiful Bill Act to avoid jeopardizing its eligibility for Senate reconciliation.

DOGE MEETS CONGRESS: FL REP LAUNCHES CAUCUS TO HELP MUSK

“Taking on Crazytown is no easy task,” Bean quipped to Fox News Digital last November when he launched the House DOGE Caucus.

On the Senate side, DOGE caucus chairwoman Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, scrutinized a recent government report on COVID aid fraud and has already launched an effort to head off what she called easily-determinable signals that an application for government emergency aid is likely falsified or ineligible.

Ernst this week flagged an analysis from the Pandemic Resources Accountability Committee – led by federal inspectors general – that randomly sampled nearly 700,000 identity records from 67.5 million applications for PPP, EIDL and other COVID-19 relief programs and found nearly $80 billion in potentially fraudulent payouts.

Ernst said much of the likely fraud could have been prevented if officials had simply verified Social Security numbers, matched them with SSA records, and confirmed whether applicants were still alive.

In turn, she informed Fox News Digital exclusively that she would be launching a bill Friday to prevent this kind of easily-avoided oversight issues in the future.

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The DOGE in Spending Act would prevent “con artists,” she said, who, during COVID-19, “raided America’s piggy bank.”

The bill’s name also signaled that the Senate, too, would continue its Musk-inspired work long after the mogul has left.

“There is nothing more frustrating than losing billions of dollars to preventable fraud,” Ernst said, calling the illicit payouts during the pandemic “unprecedented.”

Five members of the Proud Boys are suing the U.S. government and certain employees in the FBI and Department of Justice for $100 million over their Jan. 6 prosecutions. 

Enrique Tarrio, Zachary Rehl, Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs and Dominic Pezzola allege in the lawsuit the FBI and DOJ violated their constitutional rights with their prosecution over what prosecutors said was their planning of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. 

In a document filed in a Florida federal court and obtained by Fox News Digital, the men claim “egregious and systemic abuse of the legal system and the United States Constitution to punish and oppress political allies of President Trump, by any and all means necessary, legal, or illegal.

“Through the use of evidence tampering, witness intimidation, violations of attorney-client privilege, and placing spies to report on trial strategy, the government got its fondest wish of imprisoning the J6 Defendants, the modern equivalent of placing one’s enemies’ heads on a spike outside the town wall as a warning to any who would think to challenge the status quo.”

OUTGOING US CAPITOL POLICE CHIEF CRITICIZES TRUMP PARDONS FOR JAN. 6 DEFENDANTS 

Fox News Digital has reached out to the U.S. Department of Justice for comment. 

Four of the five men were convicted of seditious conspiracy after the attack, and Tarrio faced the harshest punishment — 22 years for planning the attack — of any of the Jan. 6 defendants, according to The Wall Street Journal. 

Nordean was sentenced to 18 years, Biggs was sentenced to 17 years and Rehl was sentenced to 15 years. Pezzola was found guilty of conspiracy to obstruct Congress and sentenced to 10 years in prison. 

However, President Donald Trump pardoned or commuted the sentences of nearly all the defendants after he took office this year, including Tarrio, Rehl, Nordean, Biggs and Pezzola. 

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION AGREES TO PAY ASHLI BABBITT’S FAMILY $5 MILLION

All the men except Tarrio were at the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6, according to the Journal. 

Tarrio had been barred from entering Washington, D.C., because of a previous arrest, The Washington Post reported. 

“Now that the Plaintiffs are vindicated, free, and able to once again exercise their rights as American citizens, they bring this action against their tormentors for violations of their Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendment Rights … as well as the common law tort of malicious prosecution and false imprisonment,” the suit adds. 

Prosecutors said Pezzola was seen on video using a police riot shield to commit the first breach of the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6.

Prosecutors alleged the men were charged under a “novel theory of criminal conspiracy called the ‘tool theory,'” according to the suit. “Despite the legal jiggery-pokery employed by the government to obscure the fact, the Plaintiffs were essentially convicted of ‘stochastic terrorism,’ a leftist bugbear used to describe rhetoric offensive to them that they claim provokes violent acts.”

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The men also claimed in the lawsuit that the government didn’t have probable cause to raid their homes. 

EXCLUSIVE: Despite stunning news about the return of illegal alleged gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia Friday afternoon, the White House is celebrating a “blockbuster” week for President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda.

“It’s a bad day to be an illegal alien and a great day to be an American,” a spokesperson said. 

On the heels of “Operation Patriot,” the largest ICE operation ever, which saw the arrest of nearly 1,500 illegal aliens in the deep blue state of Massachusetts, ICE arrests surged this week, with agents making over 2,000 arrests Tuesday and nearly 2,500 Wednesday.

TRUMP’S BORDER WALL EXPANSION MOVES FORWARD IN SEVERAL CRITICAL AREAS: ‘CRISIS IS NOT YET OVER’

Overall, ICE has arrested over 100,000 illegal immigrants since Trump took office.

Over the weekend, ICE officials and local authorities in South Carolina raided a “cartel after-party” where 80 illegal aliens were arrested, including two alleged “high-level cartel members” of the Mexican cartel Los Zetas and the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, according to The Post and Courier.

According to the outlet, one of the individuals arrested, a Honduran national, has been named in an international murder case.

The New York Times also reported that deportation flights rose to the highest level yet under the Trump administration. This comes as ICE announced this week that it had deported 142 criminal aliens to Mexico from the Houston area, including child predators, gang members, human traffickers and one individual convicted of making terroristic threats.

On Monday, ICE announced that, working with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, it had made a “game-changing” seizure of 50,000 kilograms of meth ingredients destined for the Sinaloa Cartel.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION DROPS HAMMER ON ‘NARCO SUB’ COCAINE RING AS CARTELS THREATEN US BORDERS

Chad Plantz, special agent in charge of ICE Homeland Security Investigations Houston, said the collaboration provides authorities “with a game-changing method to stay one step ahead of the cartels by disrupting the flow of chemicals that they depend on to produce illicit narcotics.”

A source familiar with the operations shared with Fox News Digital a listing of some of the arrests made by ICE this week. 

KILMAR ABREGO GARCIA INDICTED ON HUMAN TRAFFICKING CHARGES, ORDERED TO APPEAR BEFORE JUDGE IN NASHVILLE

These arrests included a Salvadoran national arrested in Los Angeles for sodomy of a child, a Mexican national arrested in Chicago for criminal sexual assault of a child, a Mexican national arrested in Houston for indecent sexual contact with a child, a Honduran national arrested in El Paso for possession of child pornography and a Laotian national arrested for murder and attempted murder.

SAN DIEGO AUTHORITIES ARREST 3 NONCITIZENS ALLEGEDLY INVOLVED IN TRANSPORTING MORE THAN $5M WORTH OF METH

White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson called this week “a blockbuster week for President Trump’s immigration agenda.”

“President Trump is doing exactly what he promised the American people — securing the Southern border and deporting illegal aliens,” said Jackson.

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“The President is cracking down on cartels, cutting the flow of fentanyl coming across our border by over half in the last year,” she added. “Under President Trump’s America First leadership, it’s a bad day to be an illegal alien and a great day to be an American.”

President Donald Trump told reporters on Air Force One Friday that Chinese President Xi Jinping had agreed to start sending rare earth minerals to the U.S. after halting the shipments in April.

Trump held a gaggle on the presidential jet Friday evening, and one reporter asked him just before landing if Xi had agreed to restart the flow of rare earth minerals and magnets to the U.S.

“Yes, he did,” Trump replied. “We’re very far advanced on the China deal.”

The news comes about a month and a half after China effectively halted exports of seven precious minerals, vital for assembling cars, robotics and defense systems, to the U.S. in a direct strike on America’s manufacturing and defense supply chain.

LIZ PEEK: TRUMP MUST STAY STRONG, US RELIANCE ON CHINESE MINERALS AND DRUGS PUTS AMERICANS AT RISK

Overseas deliveries of magnets stopped April 4, when new licensing rules took effect, according to The New York Times. Companies are only allowed to export rare earth materials if they obtain special export licenses, which take 45 days to receive.

The halt also threatened to undercut Trump’s tariff strategy because China produces about 60% of the world’s critical mineral supply and processes even more, up to 90%.

PUTIN SAYS RUSSIA IS OPEN TO ECONOMIC COOPERATION WITH US ON RARE EARTH MINERALS

China’s mineral halt to the U.S. Defense Department came after Beijing had already imposed sanctions on multiple U.S. military contractors late last year, according to Reuters. Chinese entities were prohibited from engaging or cooperating with them in response to an arms sale to Taiwan, the outlet reported.

Trump and Xi had a lengthy call Thursday amid economic and national security friction regarding trade between the U.S. and China.

TRUMP’S ‘RARE’ PRICE FOR US MILITARY AID TO UKRAINE CALLED ‘FAIR’ BY ZELENSKYY

“I just concluded a very good phone call with President Xi, of China, discussing some of the intricacies of our recently made, and agreed to, Trade Deal,” Trump said Thursday in a Truth Social post. “The call lasted approximately one and a half hours and resulted in a very positive conclusion for both Countries.”

Trump said the conversation focused mostly on trade.

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The call came nearly a week after Trump condemned China for violating an initial trade agreement that the U.S. and China hashed out in May and a day after Trump said Xi was “extremely hard to make a deal with” in a Truth Social post. 

Fox News’ Diana Stancy, Bonny Chu, Danielle Wallace, Morgan Phillips and Reuters contributed to this report.

The ongoing feud between President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, his one-time “special government employee,” has brought an “unprecedented” dynamic compared to other famous disputes, long-time Democratic political strategist and Fox News contributor Jacques DeGraff said.

After somewhat muted rumblings from Musk about why he opposed a Trump-endorsed Republican spending package, the DOGE leader launched complaints after Trump began firing back this week, including threats aimed at Musk’s business revenue.

“It’s unprecedented, but the reality is that what makes it a singular moment in history is that no single figure has ever been able to say, ‘I made a president and then (fell) out with that individual,” DeGraff told Fox News Digital Friday. 

“There have been groups, there have been individuals who wanted to pretend that they did, but the record is clear. And, I mean, this man (Elon) brought his son into the Oval Office. He wore a hat and didn’t wear a suit to the Oval Office. He clearly had carte blanche. … The president, in effect, did a Tesla ad in the Rose Garden … and now they’ve fallen out in life.” 

WATCH: REPUBLICANS RALLY BEHIND TRUMP, CONTINUE TO SUPPORT MUSK AMID ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL’ BRAWL

DeGraffe, who has been a political advocate and strategist for years, quipped that, ordinarily, “we would have to go to family court,” adding “what’s the court here?” 

Trump is no stranger to quarrels with his staff. During his first term, his relationship soured with his National Security Advisor, John Bolton, and his press secretary, Anthony Scaramucci, after they diverged on different issues and publicly criticized Trump. 

But, for DeGraffe at least, this quarrel has “distinguished itself from anything in the past.” 

One major difference he pointed to is the implications for both parties in this spat.

LIZ PEEK: FIVE CRITICAL TAKEAWAYS FROM THE EPIC TRUMP-MUSK RUMBLE

“Tesla stock has dropped $150 billion, Trump stock has dropped but it also occurs at the same time as this legislation and so that is going to have – no matter how it turns out – it’s going to have massive political and public policy implications for the country,” DeGraffe said. “So this is no small dispute.” 

DeGraffe also contended that this is “the first time” there has been a major deviation from Trump “from the MAGA side of the aisle.” He suggested the split could be bad news for Trump and others who hope to see the GOP’s budget package pass the finish line in its current form.

“This major split will allow other players to take positions other than the party line, and it gives them room and comfort and cover in order to do so,” DeGraffe suggested. “Will senators who follow Musk, or, better yet, disagree with Musk, face intensely funded primaries?

“That’s a consideration that everyone involved will have to take. … As a lifelong Democrat, I’m sitting with my bowl of popcorn saying, ‘Go at it.’ Because anything that slows this horrific legislation has got to be good news to the rest of the country.”

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However, while DeGraffe sees the Trump-Musk feud as having wide-ranging and lasting implications, GOP political strategist Dallas Woodhouse says he thinks the feud is unimportant to most Republicans.

“I am currently at the North Carolina State GOP convention, and this is not a topic of concern among activists,” Woodhouse said. “No doubt it makes for funny and entertaining X posts, but the GOP faithful are laser-focused on growing the new diverse GOP/Trump winning coalition.”