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Former Vice President Kamala Harris returned to the political scene with a fiery speech on Wednesday night in which she slammed the Trump administration’s first 100 days.

Harris had a very negative, often angry-sounding message in her first speech since she left office, even saying, “we are seeing the wholesale abandonment” of American ideals in reference to President Donald Trump’s priorities.

“Now, I know tonight’s event happens to coincide with the 100 days after the inauguration, and I’ll leave to others to give a full accounting of what has happened so far,” she said. “But I will say this. Instead of the administration working to advance America’s highest ideals, we are witnessing the wholesale abandonment of those ideals.”

Harris accused Trump of advancing “an agenda [of] a narrow, self-serving vision of America,” threatening to bring a “constitutional crisis” to the nation.

‘PROMISES MADE, PROMISES KEPT’: TRUMP CELEBRATES FIRST 100 DAYS IN OFFICE WITH HIGH ENERGY MICHIGAN RALLY

Former Vice President Kamala Harris returned to the political scene with a fiery speech on Wednesday night in which she slammed the Trump administration’s performance in the first 100 days, saying, “We are seeing the wholesale abandonment” of American ideals. (Leigh Vogel/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

She accused Trump of bringing “chaos” to the U.S. through his tariff policy, accusing him of being responsible for the “greatest manmade economic crisis in modern presidential history.”

But beyond this, Harris claimed that the Trump administration is advancing an intentional vision to undermine American democracy.

“Some people are describing what has been happening in recent months as absolute chaos, and of course, I understand why, and it’s certainly true of those tariffs,” she said. “But friends, please let us not be duped into thinking everything is chaos.”

She continued: “What we are in fact witnessing is a high-velocity event. Where a vessel is being used for the swift implementation of an agenda that has been decades in the making. An agenda to slash public education, an agenda to shrink government and then to privatize its services, all while giving tax breaks to the wealthiest among us.”

VANCE PREVIEWS TRUMP’S PLANS TO ‘JUICE THE ECONOMY,’ END RUSSIA–UKRAINE WAR IN NEXT 100 DAYS

President Donald Trump delivers remarks at his Michigan rally commemorating the first 100 days of his second term. (Getty Images)

“Right now, we are living in their vision for America,” Harris went on. “It’s an agenda, a narrow, self-serving vision of America where they punish truth tellers, favor loyalists cashing in on their power, and leave everyone to fend for themselves, all while abandoning allies and retreating from the world.”

Harris further alluded to the Trump administration’s deportation of illegal alien and suspected MS-13 gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia, saying, “It is not okay to detain and to disappear American citizens or anyone without due process.”

She praised the actions of congressional Democrats resisting the Trump administration, naming several lawmakers, including Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md.; Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J.; Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.; and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., who she said “all in different ways, have been speaking with moral clarity about this moment.”

The former vice president said she was inspired by the Democrat’s electoral victory in the Wisconsin Supreme Court election as well as “the courage of judges to uphold the rule of law” and “universities that are defying unconstitutional demands that threaten the pursuit of truth and academic independence.”

‘I AM AFRAID’: ANOTHER PROTECTIVE ORDER FILING AGAINST DEPORTED ‘MARYLAND MAN’ CHAMPIONED BY DEMS SURFACES

U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., participate in a stop on the “Fighting Oligarchy” tour at the Dignity Health Arena, Theater in Bakersfield, California, U.S. on April 15, 2025. (REUTERS/Aude Guerrucci)

Harris went on to say that “if Congress fails to do its part, or if the courts fail to do their part, or if both do their part, but the president defies them anyway. Well, friends, that is called a constitutional crisis.”

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Harris gave her speech at Emerge’s 20th anniversary gala in San Francisco. Emerge, a training organization that seeks to prepare Democratic women to run for office, charged $25 for viewers to gain access to the virtual livestream. Other package options included a $100 fee for young professionals and a $250 general admission ticket. 

The former vice president did not address rumors that she may be considering a run for governor of California. 

Fox News Digital’s Diana Stancy contributed to this report.

With Republicans firmly in control of Washington following the 2024 elections and President Trump implementing his second-term agenda, Democrats find themselves not just out of power but at odds over what the party stands for.

A new wave of candidates has emerged: not from outside the political system, but from within the Democratic establishment itself. 

According to Roll Call, at least four former Democratic congressional staffers are now running against long-serving members of their own party.

These challengers say they were motivated by frustration with the Democratic leadership’s lack of direction, ineffective communication, and failure to respond to Trump’s political momentum.

JEFFRIES DISTANCES HIMSELF FROM DEMOCRAT TRIPS TO EL SALVADOR AS BORDER SECURITY DEBATE SPLITS PARTY: REPORT

Jake Rakov, a former deputy communications director for Rep. Brad Sherman, is running to unseat his onetime boss in California’s 32nd District. (Photo courtesy of campaign) (Courtesy of Rakov campaign)

Each of these candidates brings a unique perspective, but all share a common theme: the belief that the Democratic Party is no longer equipped to meet the moment.

Saikat Chakrabarti, the 32-year-old former chief of staff to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, is taking on one of the most iconic figures in the Democratic Party: former Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Pelosi, who has not yet confirmed if she will seek a 20th term, faces increasing calls for generational change within her solidly blue district.

Chakrabarti told Roll Call that he was disillusioned by what he saw in Democrat leadership. “The main thing my time in Washington taught me is that the current Democratic Party and its leaders are not at all prepared for what is going on right now,” he said. 

Instead of taking on Trump strategically, he said, Democratic leadership was more concerned with bureaucratic details than national messaging.

DAVID HOGG CLASHES WITH AN IRATE JAMES CARVILLE OVER DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY PLAN, CALLS ON HIM TO ‘WIN ELECTIONS’

Saikat Chakrabarti, chief of staff for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., attends a news conference in the Capitol Visitor Center where freshman House Democrats responded to negative comments by President Trump that were directed them on Monday, July 15, 2019. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

“The party thinks their main job is fundraising all day, and not fixing real problems for voters,” he added.

Jake Rakov, a 33-year-old former deputy communications director for Rep. Brad Sherman, is now running against his former boss in California’s San Fernando Valley. Sherman, who has served in Congress since 1997, is among the more senior Democrats now facing internal challenges.

Rakov said he decided to run after witnessing what he described as an outdated and ineffective approach to politics. “Looking after Trump won again and seeing [Sherman] use the exact same talking points that I helped draft for him back in 2017… he was still doing the same outdated things,” Rakov said. “He hasn’t been able to adapt.”

Sherman, for his part, dismissed the challenge, telling Roll Call that “nobody who’s actually involved in the civic affairs of my district runs against me,” suggesting Rakov lacks a connection to the community.

Jason Friedman, a former intern for Sen. Dick Durbin, is running for Congress in Illinois and challenging Rep. Danny Davis in the 2026 Democratic primary. (Photo courtesy of campaign)

In Illinois, 51-year-old Jason Friedman, once an intern for Sen. Dick Durbin, is now running to replace longtime Rep. Danny K. Davis, who at 83 is one of the oldest members of the House. 

Davis has not yet announced whether he will run for a 16th term.

Though Friedman declined to be interviewed, he issued a statement warning about threats to democracy and economic stability from Trump and Elon Musk. His decision to run highlights growing restlessness even in safely blue districts like Davis’s, where younger candidates are eager to offer a new direction.

While most of the former staffers are challenging Democrats, Jordan Wood is taking on a well-established Republican: Sen. Susan Collins of Maine. 

Wood, previously chief of staff to former Rep. Katie Porter, is entering a tough race in a purple state where Collins has consistently won reelection.

Wood’s message echoes that of his fellow challengers: frustration with political stagnation and a desire to bring in new leadership. “I’m tired of waiting for the same establishment politicians to fix these problems,” Wood told Roll Call, citing concerns about affordability and economic pressure on working families.

These challengers reflect a broader generational divide within the Democratic Party. Roll Call reports that they are all under 40, except for Friedman, who at 51 is still younger than the House’s median age of 57. 

While their targets vary, their critiques are consistent: long-serving Democrats are not communicating effectively, not organizing nationally, and not offering solutions that resonate with frustrated voters.

Chakrabarti and Rakov both criticized the Democratic strategy of focusing solely on local races while the GOP builds a cohesive national message. “We need a national message; that’s the way to defeat the far right,” Chakrabarti said. 

“I don’t think Democratic leaders like Pelosi believe it is possible to improve Americans’ lives that dramatically, so we don’t even try.”

While Republicans continue to refine their national messaging and build momentum under President Trump’s leadership, Democrats are facing a credibility crisis within their own ranks.

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These former insiders challenging sitting members aren’t merely a flash in the pan for 2026’s early campaign cycle. They’re a sign of a party deeply unsure of how to respond to conservative policy gains, economic concerns, and a rejuvenated Republican base.

President Donald Trump revealed Tuesday evening what he and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed during their viral meeting at the Vatican when both were in attendance for the late Pope Francis’ funeral. 

“I was telling him that it’s a very good thing if we can produce a deal, that you sign it, because Russia is much bigger and much stronger,” Trump said Tuesday evening during a town hall hosted by NewsNation, which he participated in by phone.

The pair met face-to-face for the first time since their contentious Oval Office meeting in February, while both attended the papal funeral. Neither White House or Ukrainian officials gave many details on the nature or content of the talk, other than that it was “productive” and “symbolic.”

UKRAINE SIGNS DEAL TO GIVE US ACCESS TO RARE MINERALS WITH TRUMP ADMIN ‘COMMITTED TO A PEACE PROCESS’: BESSENT

President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speak in Rome where they both attended Pope Francis’ funeral on April 26, 2025. (Vatican and Ukraine Ambassador to Holy See)

“We discussed a lot one on one,” Zelenskyy posted on X following the viral meeting. “Hoping for results on everything we covered. Protecting lives of our people. Full and unconditional ceasefire. Reliable and lasting peace that will prevent another war from breaking out. Very symbolic meeting that has potential to become historic, if we achieve joint results.”

Despite few details being released about the meeting, Trump did tell reporters over the weekend that part of the pair’s discussion revolved around the U.S. sending more weapons to Ukraine. 

“He told me that he needs more weapons, but he’s been saying that for three years,” Trump said. “We’re going to see what happens – I want to see what happens with respect to Russia. Because Russia, I’ve been surprised and disappointed – very disappointed – that they did the bombing of those places after discussions.” 

TRUMP HAS BEEN FRUSTRATED WITH PUTIN AND ZELENSKYY, DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF SAYS

Image depicts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy depicted with President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Fox News Digital image)

While Trump did not divulge any further details about the meeting to reporters, the president did add that he thinks Zelenskyy will be willing to give up Crimea in order to secure a peace deal. Russia’s annexation of the current Ukrainian territory has been a major sticking point amid negotiations between the two warring nations, with Zelenskyy indicating he would not be willing to sign a deal that includes giving up the territory. 

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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sent a message to Iran on Wednesday night, warning the country that, because of its “LETHAL” support of the Houthis terrorist organization, they will pay the consequences.

“We see your LETHAL support to The Houthis. We know exactly what you are doing,” Hegseth said in a post on X. “You know very well what the U.S. Military is capable of — and you were warned. You will pay the CONSEQUENCE at the time and place of our choosing.”

Earlier this week, a Houthi drone forced the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier to make an evasive maneuver, which some believe caused an F-18 fighter jet worth $67 million to fall off the carrier and into the Red Sea.

$70M NAVY F-18 FIGHTER JET FALLS INTO RED SEA OFF THE USS HARRY S TRUMAN

The move came after 47 straight days of U.S. airstrikes against Houthi targets.

Hegseth then retweeted a Truth Social post by President Donald Trump from March 17.

“Let nobody be fooled! The hundreds of attacks being made by Houthi, the sinister mobsters and thugs based in Yemen, who are hated by the Yemeni people, all emanate from, and are created by, IRAN,” Trump posted. “Any further attack or retaliation by the ‘Houthis’ will be met with great force, and there is no guarantee that the force will stop there.

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Pete Hegseth threatened Iran on social media. (Reuters/Yves Herman)

“Iran has played the ‘innocent victim’ of rogue terrorists from which they’ve lost control, but they haven’t lost control,” the president continued. “They’re dictating every move, giving them the weapons, supplying them with money and highly sophisticated Military equipment, and even, so-called, ‘Intelligence.’ Every shot fired by the Houthis will be looked upon, from this point forward, as being a shot fired from the weapons and leadership of IRAN, and IRAN will be held responsible, and suffer the consequences, and those consequences will be dire!”

President Donald Trump said public entitlements, such as Social Security and Medicaid, will not be touched in the GOP’s contentious new budget bill currently working its way through Congress, during a town hall Tuesday night hosted by NewsNation.

Earlier this month, the Republican-led House of Representatives approved $2 trillion in spending cuts. Those cuts did not include any slashes to Social Security, but it did pave the way for cuts to Medicaid. 

However, in the Senate, Republicans have proposed implementing just $4 billion in cuts, a fraction of what House Republicans have called for. Meanwhile, a number of GOP senators have also expressed hesitancy over making cuts to Medicaid, setting up a potential intra-party battle over the matter.

SCOOP: REPUBLICANS ROLL OUT $69B FUNDING PLAN FOR NEW CBP AGENTS, BUILDING BORDER WALL IN TRUMP BUDGET BILL

“We’re not doing anything with entitlements,” Trump told NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo, who was moderating the event alongside Bill O’Reilly and sports commentator Stephen A. Smith.

“We’re not doing anything with entitlements,” Trump told NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo, who was moderating the event alongside Bill O’Reilly and sports commentator Stephen A. Smith. (GETTY IMAGES/FOX NEWS)

“If you look at Social Security – and by the way – I think I’m better to say this than anybody, because I did nothing with entitlements that would hurt people for four years. I could have done that. If I was going to do that, I would have done it, five years ago, six years ago or seven years ago. I’m not doing anything.” 

However, Trump did say that he is undeterred from reforming public entitlements, like Medicaid, to ensure they are free of waste, fraud and abuse. 

“There are a lot of illegal aliens that are getting Medicaid that shouldn’t be getting it. And nobody objects to taking people off Medicaid that aren’t allowed to be there,” Trump added. “But we are doing absolutely nothing to hurt Medicare, Medicaid or Social Security. Nothing at all.”

TRUMP SLAMS REPUBLICAN ‘GRANDSTANDERS’ OPPOSING BUDGET BILL, PREDICTS MASSIVE US TAX INCREASES IF IT FAILS

Republicans, who are using a process known as reconciliation to bypass a senate filibuster, are hoping to finalize their plans for a new budget by Memorial Day, according to media reports.

Republicans, who are using a process known as reconciliation to bypass a senate filibuster, are hoping to finalize their plans for a new budget by Memorial Day, according to media reports. However, the GOP must come to a deal on where to cut funding to pay for many of the tax cuts they want to provide. 

“Guess what, boys? It’s game time. We’re here, and you’ve got mandatory spending sitting in front of you, and it’s Medicaid,” Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, told NBC News this week. “If they’re not going to vote for Medicaid reform, which is very much possible, and frankly, it’s our duty, then I want them to explain to me why they are for allowing the tax cuts to snap back in place. Because it’s the only math that will actually work. So anyone who is against Medicaid reform is for a tax increase.”

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Meanwhile, centrist Republicans like Reps. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., and Don Bacon, R-Neb., have indicated to Speaker Mike Johnson that they will not vote for any GOP budget bill that proposes deep cuts to Medicaid.

The Senate failed Wednesday to pass a resolution rejecting President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff agenda, as several Republicans signaled beforehand they favored halting the relatively new levies, and Vice President JD Vance was called in to break an ensuing procedural tie.

The disapproval resolution failed 49-49, with three Republicans joining all Democrats present in attempting to throw a wrench in Trump’s tariff plans.

After that, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., put forward a motion to reconsider the resolution, then moved to table – or kill – the initial motion, which procedurally would prevent Democrats from forcing such a vote again.

That vote also deadlocked, but after about 80 minutes, Vice President Vance cast a tie-breaking vote in his dual role as president of the Senate.

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., had introduced the resolution to end Trump’s “national emergency” as a “privileged” one – meaning it would require a vote regardless of the upper chamber being in Republican hands. The House, however, has signaled it is not inclined to pursue the same.

Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Rand Paul, R-Ky., split from the rest of the GOP and sought to end the national emergency that backs the tariffs. Sens. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., did not vote. 

CHINA IS ‘CAVING’ TO TRUMP’S TRADE WAR STRATEGY, EXPERT SIGNALS

A New York Times columnist grilled the Democratic Party for not mounting an aggressive enough attack on President Trump’s tariff policy. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

Whitehouse was reportedly on a plane back from South Korea and wouldn’t make the gavel, according to Providence’s CBS affiliate.

Before the vote, there was chatter about key absences that could swing the vote one way or another, as key tallies are all about the math.

One tariff critic told reporters earlier Wednesday that the disapproval motion sent “the message I want to send” that tariffs must be more “discriminatory.”

“It’s not perfect, I think it’s too broad,” Collins said, according to Politico.

In remarks on the Senate floor earlier in the day, Paul, – one of the most vocal opponents to tariffs and proponents of free trade – who suggested conservatives may want to reconsider their support for the tariffs.

“You know, there was an old-fashioned conservative principle that believed that less taxes were better than more taxes,” Paul said.

“That if you tax something, you got less of it. So that if you place a new tax on trade, you’ll get less trade.”

TRUMP WAGERS US ECONOMY IN HIGH-STAKES TARIFF GAMBLE AT 100-DAY MARK

“There was also this idea that you didn’t do taxation without representation. That idea goes not only back to our American Revolution, it goes back to the English Civil War as well. It goes back probably to Magna Carta,” he said of the phrase, which for some time was the District of Columbia’s official slogan, given its lack of full-vote representation in Congress.

Paul said the Constitution forbids taxation being implemented in a way that circumvents Congress and laid out why he thought that was the case today.

“An emergency has been declared, as the Senator from Virginia remarked,” he said. “Everywhere, there’s an emergency everywhere. Sounds like an emergency everywhere is really an emergency nowhere.”

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Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., had previously balked at Trump’s tariffs on Canada, saying that while fentanyl proliferation is an emergency as the president declared, it is not one that is germane to Canada.

Reached for comment, the office of Sen. Mitch McConnell – Paul’s fellow Kentucky Republican – did not offer any further remarks after reports suggested he too is uncomfortable with Trump’s tariff agenda.

Fox News Digital also reached out to Murkowski for comment in that regard.

Schumer commented on the ultimate result, saying Republicans “voted to keep the Trump tariff-tax in place. They own the Trump tariffs and higher costs on America’s middle-class families.”

Fox News’ Tyler Olson contributed to this report.

Democrats in one Massachusetts city have purchased thousands of red cards intended to remind immigrants of their constitutional rights if approached by ICE or related agencies.

The Medford City Democratic Committee, based about six miles northwest of Boston, has already bought 4,000 cards, intended for use by citizens and noncitizens alike. 

The cards list their Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights: protecting them from warrantless searches, seizures, and having to speak to authorities without legal counsel. 

They are printed in English on one side, with translations in Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic and Haitian on the other, Medford City Councilor Matthew Leming notes on the committee’s website.

REPUBLICAN LAWMAKERS SEEK TO STRIP DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA OF ITS SANCTUARY CITY POLICIES

Democrats in Medford, Massachusetts, have 4,000 red cards in various languages ready to distribute. Four-thousand more are reportedly on the way. (WFXT)

Four-thousand more cards have also been approved for purchase, he said, writing, “Red cards are like helpful business cards that a holder can hand to an officer if they approach in public.”

The cost of the initiative was $826, according to WFXT, a Boston FOX affiliate. 

Leming told Fox News Digital that taxpayer funds are not being used to subsidize the program. Rather, he said, the Democratic City Committee footed the bill.

“We’re just trying to find things we can do that are feasible to resist what’s happening at the federal level,” Leming told WFXT. “It’s a way to protect our immigrant communities from the actions of the current administration.”

TRUMP SIGNS EXECUTIVE ORDER CRACKING DOWN ON ‘SANCTUARY’ CITIES, THREATENS THEIR FEDERAL FUNDING

“The cards list basic constitutional protections that apply to everybody, and everybody in the U.S. should be aware of their constitutional rights,” he further noted when asked by Fox News Digital.

The legal complexities of such an initiative are apparent — and whether constitutional rights apply to illegal immigrants can be a hot point of debate among legal scholars.

Medford City Councilor Matt Leming, a proponent of the red card initiative, asserts that it’s reminding people of “basic constitutional protections that apply to everybody.” (WFXT)

Leming hopes to take the initiative even further. 

“What we’re trying to do is find nonprofits who would be willing to sign up and give us a receipt for finance purposes so we can mail them out,” he said. “A lot of our actions are restricted by campaign finance laws.”

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The Medford “red card” initiative comes amid widespread pushback by blue-state officials regarding the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown — including visits by members of Congress to El Salvador to protest the detention of suspected MS-13 gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia, and recent court rulings attempting to restrict Border Patrol agents’ ability to detain suspected illegal immigrants.

Ukraine has signed a deal with the United States, giving the U.S. access to Ukraine’s rare minerals as it continues to work with the Trump administration in an effort to end its three-year war with Russia. 

Ukrainian Economy Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko flew to Washington, D.C., on Wednesday to help finalize the deal. 

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, right, and President Donald Trump, talk as they attend the funeral of Pope Francis in Vatican, Saturday. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)

“On behalf of the Government of Ukraine, I signed the Agreement on the Establishment of a United States–Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund. Together with the United States, we are creating the Fund that will attract global investment into our country,” she wrote on X. 

This story is breaking. Please check back for updates. 

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is privately signaling to fellow Democrats that it’s time to hit pause on trips to El Salvador aimed at spotlighting the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a move reflecting growing internal tensions over how the party is handling border security and immigration enforcement optics in the 2026 cycle.

Though Jeffries has publicly said Democrats are committed to securing Abrego Garcia’s return from a notorious Salvadoran prison, sources told The Bulwark that the New York Democrat has discouraged more lawmakers from traveling to the country.

One senior House staffer described the leadership’s position bluntly: “They want to let the El Salvador stuff slow down.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Jeffries’ office for comment on this reporting and did not receive a response.

DEM SENATOR SAYS ABREGO GARCIA SITUATION ‘NOT GOING TO END WELL’ FOR TRUMP, ARGUES HE’S ‘UNDERMINING’ FREEDOM

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries speaks during a press conference at the Capitol on April 28, 2025. (Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)

The issue has divided Democrats. 

Progressives have embraced Abrego Garcia’s case as a symbol of what they say are unconstitutional deportations under President Donald Trump’s renewed immigration crackdown. But moderates are increasingly uneasy, pointing to the political risk of rallying around a figure with a checkered past.

Jeffries, who once demanded that Abrego Garcia be returned “immediately before he is killed,” has not publicly addressed whether he supports the strategy of sending congressional delegations to El Salvador. 

DEMOCRAT FAULTS HIS OWN PARTY FOR PICKING WRONG BATTLE WITH CASE OF DEPORTED MS-13 SUSPECT

Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., meets with Kilmar Abrego Garcia in San Salvador, El Salvador, on April 17, 2025. (Sen. Van Hollen’s Office via Getty Images)

His spokesperson recently dismissed reports that he is pulling back from the issue as “thinly sourced” but did not deny the substance when initially contacted by The Bulwark.

The stakes are high. As Fox News Digital previously reported, Abrego Garcia, who was deported alongside more than 200 others, has ties to the violent MS-13 gang and was named in a 2022 Homeland Security investigation into human smuggling.

Rep. Maxine Dexter, D-Ore., speaks at a press conference on the issue of Kilmar Abrego Garcia in San Salvador, El Salvadore, on April 21, 2025. (MARVIN RECINOS/AFP via Getty Images)

Though never charged, he was stopped while transporting eight undocumented passengers, and court documents in Maryland show a history of alleged domestic violence, including a judge labeling him a “violent repeat offender.”

Despite this, Democrat lawmakers like Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., and Reps. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., and Robert Garcia, D-Calif., have flown to El Salvador in recent weeks to draw attention to Abrego Garcia’s detention. Van Hollen’s visit particularly sparked memes online with the now-infamous “margarita-gate” incident.

Critics within the party now worry that continued focus on the case and trips perceived as sympathetic to a deported gang suspect could backfire.

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“There’s a moral argument to be made,” one Democrat aide told The Bulwark, “but it’s not clear this is the right poster case, and it’s definitely not the right political moment.”

EXCLUSIVE: The American Parents Coalition (APC) is weighing in on a lawsuit against a Florida middle school accused of secretly socially transitioning a 13-year-old girl behind her family’s back.

The group, which advocates for the rights of parents and families across the country, filed a brief in support of the Littlejohn family with the 11th Circuit Court on Wednesday. APC is arguing that so-called social transitioning is a type of medical treatment and that “parents have a substantive due process right to be informed about the treatments a school administers to their minor child and to refuse those treatments.”

The girl’s parents, January and Jeffrey Littlejohn, filed the suit against the school board of Leon County, Florida.  

In an interview earlier this year, January Littlejohn, who was one of President Donald Trump’s guests at his address to a joint session of Congress, shared how the school’s actions had an extreme, “destructive” effect on her daughter and entire family. Littlejohn said that despite the school’s behavior, her daughter has worked through her gender confusion. But she said the school’s actions created a “huge wedge between us and our daughter” that “took many years to repair.”

TRUMP GUEST WHOSE DAUGHTER WAS TRANSITIONED BEHIND HER BACK SPEAKS OUT 

The American Parents Coalition, which advocates for the rights of parents and families across the country, filed a brief in support of January Littlejohn’s lawsuit in the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Wednesday.  (Becket)

She explained that the school “took it upon themselves to intervene and socially transition my child” when the girl and her friends became fixated on their gender identity.

Though some consider social transitioning virtually harmless, Littlejohn explained that it “goes way beyond name and pronouns.”

“They sit the child down, and, in our case, it was behind closed doors with three adults that consisted of the school counselor, the assistant principal and a social worker I had never met, and they did an official ‘gender support plan,’” she explained.

In this session, Littlejohn said, the school staff asked her daughter what bathroom and locker rooms she wanted to use, which sex she wanted to room with during overnight trips and whether she wanted her parents to be notified.

PARENTS TELL SCOTUS: LGBTQ STORYBOOKS IN CLASSROOMS CLASH WITH OUR FAITH

A new wrinkle has been added to the ongoing battle regarding gender transitions for minors. A group “dedicated to the health of all children” declared anyone under 18 doesn’t have the agency to decide they want a tattoo but approves of “gender-affirming care.”  (iStock)

“They put the burden on her as to whether or not my parental rights would be honored by deciding she was the sole decision-maker as to whether or not my husband and I would be notified of the meeting,” she explained.

Littlejohn said that when she made inquiries about the session to the school, she was told “they could not give me any information about that meeting” and “that my daughter was now protected by a nondiscrimination law.”

Despite this, a three-judge panel from the 11th Circuit Court ruled 2-1 against the Littlejohns, saying the incident did not violate the parents’ due process rights. 

COLORADO’S ‘TOTALITARIAN’ TRANSGENDERISM BILL SPARKS CONCERNS FROM PARENTS

After this ruling, the Littlejohns appealed to have their case heard by the entire 11th Circuit Court. The American Parents Coalition joined in support of the Littlejohns’ lawsuit Wednesday.

In its brief, APC states that the Leon County School Board “violated the requirements of substantive due process when it started a minor child on the road to gender transition without the knowledge and consent of the child’s parents.”

‘LET US BE THE PARENTS’: SUPREME COURT SHOULD LET PARENTS OPT KIDS OUT OF LGBTQ SCHOOL LESSONS, LAWYER ARGUES

A supporter of parental rights holds up a sign during a Chino Valley Unified School District board meeting at Don Lugo High School in Chino July 20, 2023. (Getty Images)

The brief argues that, regardless of debates about the safety and efficacy of gender transition treatments, “this much is clear: social transitioning is the first step in a process to treat a psychiatric diagnosis of gender dysphoria that then leads to puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries.”

The group said that “even for proponents of this care, this first step can’t be taken lightly.” Yet, in the Littlejohns’ case, “the local school board decided that the parents should not be informed and need not consent before their middle-school age child is socially transitioned.”

“There’s no doubt that social transitioning is a medical treatment,” the group argues. “Parents should be involved in the medical process from this very first step — they should walk with their children through the challenges of growing up.”

Alleigh Marré, executive director of APC, explained the decision to join the Littlejohns’ suit, telling Fox News Digital her group is determined to “support parents and families and ensure nothing stands between parents and their child.”

FLORIDA AG LAUNCHES OFFICE OF PARENTAL RIGHTS, LENDING LEGAL FIREPOWER TO DEFEND PARENTS’ ‘GOD-GIVEN RIGHT’

A protester with signs at a rally for parental rights (Courtesy of Becket)

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“No parent should ever be kept in the dark about their child,” said Marré. “When the school took steps to socially transition the Littlejohns’ daughter without their knowledge or consent, it wasn’t a misstep, it was a deliberate attempt to cut parents out of critical decisions while pushing gender ideology onto a child.

“This blatant flouting of parental rights and authority simply cannot be accepted or normalized.”

Leon County Schools did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Rep. Don Davis, D-N.C., reflected on his visit to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Stewart County, Georgia, last week, emphasizing that he remains optimistic that there is room for congressional achievements on related policies.  

“It was a very transparent visit,” Davis told Fox News Digital in an interview, noting he also had the opportunity to speak with detainees. “We were able to move around and go to places. I was even able to engage, again, with detainees.”

“Probably the best word I would use, which one of the senior administrators used, was ‘busy,’” he added.

TEXAS HOSPITALS HIT WITH $122 MILLION BILL FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS’ CARE IN SINGLE MONTH

The North Carolina Democrat noted that there have been rapid changes in border and immigration policies in recent months. (Fox & Friends)

The North Carolina Democrat emphasized that although there have been rapid changes in border and immigration policies in recent months, the legislative branch needs to step up to make changes.

“I believe there are broader steps we need to take in Congress to act. I believe we need to move forward with comprehensive immigration reform. I believe that we, without any doubt, need to secure the border as next steps. The number of unlawful entries indeed have come down, but again, we can’t just stop where we are now. We need to continue to make sure, you know, that we protect the American people,” Davis said.

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“We have to crack down on the illegal fentanyl that’s making entry into the country,” the lawmaker added.

SECRETARY KRISTI NOEM: TRUMP’S FIRST 100 DAYS MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN

Rep. Don Davis is a second-term congressman who represents parts of eastern North Carolina. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Since Trump took office, migrant encounters at the border have plummeted with just over 7,000 apprehensions in March, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data.

“We have the most secure border in the history of this nation, and the numbers prove it. President Trump’s policies are saving lives every day,” border czar Tom Homan said at the 100 days White House news conference on Monday.

Davis is a second-term congressman who represents parts of eastern North Carolina, in one of the few districts that backed President Donald Trump in November but elected a Democrat to Congress.

Last June, Davis and three other Democratic lawmakers called for the Biden administration to ramp up border security.

“This order is an overdue step, but our southern border is still not secure,” the group said regarding an executive order at the time.

TRUMP ADMIN RELEASES SHOCKINGLY LOW NUMBER OF ILLEGAL ALIENS COMPARED TO BIDEN YEARS: ‘UNPRECEDENTED’

U.S. Marines patrol along the barrier at the southern border near San Ysidro, California, on March 2, 2025. (U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Dominic Atlas)

Davis noted that he observed some detainees actively going through the judicial process that could determine their future, which could entail deportation.

“I was able to observe a detainee actually going through a judicial review and having a hearing,” Davis said, noting he “also witnessed others that were in private security areas, talking to their attorneys.”

“So the takeaway for me is, as we’re seeing more detainees coming through detention centers, it is important that we walk away prioritizing public safety. We cannot compromise on public safety whatsoever. And I believe we can still do it in a way in which we are able to abide by our Constitution.”

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There’s been an ongoing discussion about due process for those in the country illegally, as many suspected of criminal gang activity through designated terrorist groups like Tren de Aragua and MS-13 have been transported to El Salvador. 

CIA Director John Ratcliffe said Wednesday that a restructuring was underway at President Donald Trump’s direction to eliminate “well-documented politicization” of the agency. 

Trump joked during a meeting of his Cabinet secretaries on Wednesday that perhaps Ratcliffe was the only one “who’s not allowed to talk about the great job he’s done,” given the classified nature of the Central Intelligence Agency’s work. 

“At your direction, the CIA has deployed our unique covert action, authorities in various places and continents, to successfully advance your national security and foreign policy priorities, to advance peace, to end wars, to take terrorists off the battlefield, and to keep illicit drugs from coming into this country and harming Americans,” Ratcliffe reported to Trump, in front of news cameras. “Unfortunately, as much as I would love to detail your accomplishments in that regard, we can’t do so with this crowd. But you and I both know, Mr. President, that you have had a profound positive impact on America’s national security posture. And Americans are safer because of your leadership.”

ELON MUSK TOUTS ‘TREMENDOUS’ ACCOMPLISHMENTS: ‘GREATEST ADMINISTRATION SINCE FOUNDING’

CIA Director John Ratcliffe, National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard, and Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lt. Gen. Jeffrey A. Kruse prepare to testify during the House Select Intelligence Committee hearing titled “Worldwide Threats Assessment,” on Wednesday, March 26, 2025.  (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

“Mr. President, the CIA is being restructured at your direction to focus on our core mission and to eliminate the political – the well-documented politicization that has taken place in the intelligence community from bad actors in the past to focus on our core mission and to Make America Safe Again,” Ratcliffe added, thanking Trump for the opportunity without elaborating further. 

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard also referenced efforts to combat “politicization” within the intelligence community at the Cabinet meeting. 

“I’m grateful to have the privilege of leading the intelligence community towards ending the weaponization. Politicization of the intelligence community has gone on for far too long,” Gabbard said. “And building out what is truly a lean and agile and effective intelligence community that is helping you deliver that promise to the American people of safety, security, and freedom.” 

“We’re working every day to hold the deep state accountable to end the politicization of weaponization of the intelligence community,” Gabbard continued. “This past week, I sent three criminal referrals for illegal and unauthorized leaks to the media of classified intelligence for prosecution. We have 11 more that are under investigation. We’ve revoked, at your direction, 67 security clearances, and we continue the work of declassifying documents.” 

The U.S. government has already declassified documents surrounding the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, and Gabbard said she was working to declassify more documents around the assassination of former U.S. Attorney General and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy – the father of Trump’s Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as well as the assassination of civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. 

Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, President Donald Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick listen during a White House Cabinet meeting on April 30, 2025.  (JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

TRUMP TO NAME HAITIAN GANGS FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS: REPORT

“And we continue our extensive investigations around exposing the very serious issues we have related to election integrity, illegal abuses of FISA, Crossfire Hurricane, and others,” Gabbard said. “Mr. President, under your leadership, we are working every day to bring about that transparency and accountability that the American people deserve.” 

Last month, Trump signed an executive order instructing the FBI to immediately declassify files concerning the Crossfire Hurricane investigation, the agency probe launched in 2016 that sought information on whether Trump campaign members colluded with Russia during the presidential race.

At the Cabinet meeting, another U.S. intelligence leader, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, separately acknowledged that multiple federal agencies came together under the president’s leadership to capture terrorists, including the “evil individual responsible for the Abbey Gate bombing” during the Biden administration’s botched Afghanistan withdrawal. Thirteen U.S. service members and roughly 170 Afghan civilians were killed when an ISIS-K suicide bomber detonated at Kabul’s airport. 

President Donald Trump speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the White House on April 30, 2025, in Washington, D.C.  (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

One of those agencies was the CIA. Ratcliffe told the gathering of Cabinet secretaries that the CIA “provided the intelligence that led to the apprehension of the Abbey Gate bomber, who is now being prosecuted by our great attorney general and providing a measure of justice to those 13 families that suffered as a result of that disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal, during the last administration.”  

Trump reiterated at the Cabinet meeting that what happened at Abbey Gate was a “disgrace” under the Biden administration and that U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi is working on prosecuting the alleged planner of the attack. The Justice Department announced last month that ISIS-K member Mohammad Sharifullah, also known as “Jafar,” has been arrested on federal terrorism charges in connection to the attack and was extradited to the U.S. He made a brief appearance in Virginia federal court. 

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Ratcliffe also told the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday that the CIA, at Trump’s direction, has negotiated and secured the release of Americans like Mark Fogel and Ksenia Karelina, “who had been wrongfully detained, sending the message that you will forget about no Americans that are being held in other places unfairly and unjustly.” 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the Trump administration’s decision to send an accused MS-13 gang member back to his native country of El Salvador — and said the U.S. is seeking other countries to do the same. 

“I say this unapologetically: We are actively searching for other countries to take people from third countries. So we are active, not just El Salvador,” Rubio said Wednesday during a cabinet meeting at the White House. “We are working with other countries to say, ‘We want to send you some of the most despicable human beings to your countries.’”

“We do that as a favor to us, and the further away from America the better so they can’t come back across the border,” Rubio said. “I’m not apologetic about it. We are doing that…[the] president was elected to keep America safe, and we get rid of a bunch of perverts and pedophiles and child rapists out of our country.”

This is a breaking news story and will be updated. 

During the confirmation hearing for Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) nominee Terrance Cole, Sen. Lindsey Graham produced a photo of deported alleged gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia and asked Cole to essentially translate the man’s controversial tattoos.

“Are you familiar with MS-13? Briefly, what are they?” Graham asked.

“They’re a terrorist organization,” Cole replied.

“[They’re involved in] extortion, kidnapping, drugs, intimidation, money laundering…”

‘MARYLAND MAN’ KILMAR ABREGO GARCIA EXPOSED IN POLICE RECORDS AS ‘VIOLENT’ REPEAT WIFE BEATER

Graham then asked whether MS-13 members have “membership cards” or anything similar for the public to identify them, given disputes about what Garcia’s knuckle tattoos really mean.

“Not necessarily the membership cards, but they are well recognized based on tattoos and different [things],” Cole said.

Producing a photo of the tattoos, Graham asked Cole to translate each of them in the fashion of a Rebus puzzle.

“Based on your time and experience and expertise in the DEA, what does that photo or those markings suggest to you?” he asked.

‘NOT A MARYLAND MAN’: GOP BLASTS DEMOCRAT SENATOR FIGHTING FOR RETURN OF SALVADORAN NATIONAL

“Well, they suggest that he’s an MS-13 member – that those are his markings. That’s his brand.”

When asked what the leaf on his first knuckle stood for, Cole said it was marijuana, which starts with “M.” The second finger was a “smiley face,” he said, which starts with “S,” followed by the number “1” and what “looks like a backwards 3, from here.”

“So based on your time as a DEA agent in the field, particularly in Mexico, these tattoos are consistent with MS-13 associations,” Graham asked.

“Yes sir, that’s correct,” Cole replied.

To dispel further criticism, Graham went on to ask if there might be any other organizations that would use that series of symbols.

Cole responded in the negative.

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On Monday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., was asked by the outlet “The Bulwark” about Democrats’ recent trips to El Salvador to meet with Garcia.

Democratic aides later told the outlet that Jeffries had reportedly discouraged any more visits.

The controversy over Garcia’s tattoos also boiled over during a recent interview between ABC News’ Terry Moran and President Donald Trump.

“Wait a minute, he had ‘MS-13’ on his knuckles,” Trump said, before Moran countered that there were “some tattoos that were interpreted that way.”

A federal judge ordered the release of an anti-Israel protester who helped organize riots and protests at the University of Columbia on Wednesday.

Authorities with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained Mohsen Mahdawi, a green card holder, earlier this month in Vermont. U.S. District Judge Geoffrey Crawford ordered his release following a hearing Wednesday morning.

“I’m not afraid of you,” Mahdawi declared in a message to President Donald Trump as he left the courthouse.

According to the court filing, Mahdawi co-founded the Palestinian Student Union at Columbia in the fall of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attack. He founded the group with Mahmoud Khalil, another pro-Palestinian activist who was detained by federal immigration officials under the Trump administration earlier this year.

‘SAFER WITHOUT HIM’: COLUMBIA STUDENT CLAIMS CLASSMATE ARRESTED BY ICE ‘HATES AMERICA’

Vermont’s two U.S. senators, Bernie Sanders, an independent, and Peter Welch, a Democrat, as well as the state’s sole member of Congress, Rep. Becca Balint, a Democrat, condemned Mahdawi’s arrest on April 14.

COLUMBIA ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTER MAHMOUD KHALIL CAN BE DEPORTED, JUDGE RULES

The three issued a joint statement saying Mahdawi walked into an immigration office for “what was supposed to be the final step in his citizenship process” and was instead “arrested and removed in handcuffs by plainclothes, armed individuals with their faces covered.”

Mohsen Mahdawi, center, was released from ICE custody on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

“These individuals refused to provide any information as to where he was being taken or what would happen to him,” the statement alleged.

HOMELAND SECURITY TO SCAN MIGRANTS’ SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS FOR ANTISEMITISM: ‘NO ROOM FOR TERRORIST SYMPATHIZERS’

“This is immoral, inhumane, and illegal,” it continued. “Mr. Mahdawi, a legal resident of the United States, must be afforded due process under the law and immediately released from detention.”

As a student at Columbia, Mahdawi was an outspoken critic of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and organized campus protests until March 2024. 

Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont had called for the release of Mahdawi, an anti-Israel student leader at Columbia University, after his arrest. (Yuki Iwamura/Bloomberg via Getty Images AP Images)

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According to a court filing, Mahdawi was born in a refugee camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and moved to the United States in 2014. He recently completed coursework at Columbia and was expected to graduate in May before beginning a master’s degree program there in the fall.

Fox News’ Peter Pinedo and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín is continuing to block the government from cutting off funding for legal services for unaccompanied immigrant children.

“This injunction precludes cutting off access to congressionally appropriated funding for its duration,” the court ordered.

The move to grant the motion for a preliminary injunction came after the court had previously granted a temporary restraining order to the same effect.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment on Wednesday but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

BIDEN-APPOINTED JUDGE BLOCKS TRUMP ADMIN FROM TERMINATING LEGAL AID FOR UNACCOMPANIED MIGRANT CHILDREN

President Donald Trump on the South Lawn of the White House after arriving on Marine One in Washington, D.C., on Sunday, April 27, 2025. (Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

In 2023, then-Vice President Kamala Harris broke a tie vote in the U.S. Senate to confirm then-President Joe Biden’s nomination of Martínez-Olguín to serve as a U.S. district judge for the Northern District of California.

The judge has previously worked as an attorney with the National Immigration Law Center, according to her biography on the court’s website.

“Working at the intersection of immigrant, economic, and racial justice, NILC deploys a multi-pronged strategy to secure lasting, transformational change,” the organization notes on its website.

100 DAYS OF INJUNCTIONS, TRIALS AND ‘TEFLON DON’: TRUMP SECOND TERM MEETS ITS BIGGEST TESTS IN COURT

The preliminary injunction comes amid a challenge against the government’s move to cut off funding pertaining to legal aid for unaccompanied immigrant children.

Various organizations lodged a legal challenge after the government partially terminated a contract with the Acacia Center for Justice, though Acacia itself is not a plaintiff.

FEDERAL JUDGE ORDERS LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT TO STOP ENFORCING NEW IMMIGRATION LAW

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“Until March 21, 2025, the Acacia Center for Justice (“Acacia”) managed a network of 89 legal services organizations (including Plaintiffs) in 159 offices across the country providing representation to unaccompanied children through funding from HHS and ORR, under a contract between Acacia and DOI (contracting on behalf of HHS and ORR),” a complaint asserted, referring to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), HHS’s Office of Refugee Resettlement and the Department of Interior.

The Trump administration has been facing a string of legal challenges over a variety of issues during the first 100 days of the president’s second term in office.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris will deliver her first major remarks since leaving the White House at the Emerge gala Wednesday in San Francisco — but those who want to virtually stream her speech will have to pay a fee. 

Emerge, a training organization that seeks to prepare Democratic women to run for office, is charging $25 for viewers to gain access to the virtual livestream of the organization’s 20th anniversary gala. Other package options include a $100 fee for young professionals and a $250 general admission ticket. 

A spokesperson for Harris confirmed she would deliver remarks at the Emerge gala and deferred to Emerge when asked about the price of the streaming fee. A spokesperson for Emerge did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. 

KAMALA HARRIS REVEALS HER TIMETABLE ON HER NEXT POLITICAL STEPS

A source close to Vice President Kamala Harris recently told Fox News that the former presidential candidate is considering a run for California governor. (Carolyn Kaster/The Associated Press)

Harris is expected to issue a harsh rebuke of President Donald Trump in her keynote address and will specifically encourage Americans to resist Trump’s economic agenda, Politico reports.

Other speakers at the gala include Democrat U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger of Virginia, Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow and New Mexico state Sen. Cindy Nava. 

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Likewise, Deb Haaland, who served as former President Joe Biden’s Interior secretary, will speak at the event. Haaland also previously served as a U.S. representative for New Mexico before heading up the Interior. 

Meanwhile, Harris is eyeing a potential run for California governor in 2026 and is expected to make a final call on a potential run by the end of this summer, Politico reports. 

The Trump administration has informed Congress that it intends to designate Haitian gangs as foreign terrorist organizations, sources told the Associated Press. 

A notification sent to congressional committees on April 23 says the administration will designate the Haitian gangs Viv Ansanm and Gran Grif as foreign terrorist organizations, thr AP reported, citing two people familiar with the message who spoke on condition of anonymity. A third source told the AP that the foreign relations committees in the House and Senate received the notification. 

In February, the Department of Homeland Security canceled an extension of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) shielding about half a million Haitians from deportation. 

The State Department formally designated eight Latin American organized crime groups as foreign terrorist organizations last month. They are Tren de Aragua (TdA) of Venezuela, Mara Salvatrucha – also known as MS-13 – of El Salvador, and the Sinaloa Cartel, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel – also known as the “Zeta Killers,” the Gulf Cartel and Northeast Cartel of Mexico and the La Nueva Familia Michoacana and United Cartels, all of Mexico. 

POPULAR CRUISES SUSPEND ISLAND STOP OVER ESCALATING GANG VIOLENCE: WHAT TO KNOW

President Donald Trump speaks on his first 100 days at Macomb County Community College Sports Expo Center, Tuesday, April 29, 2025, in Warren, Mich.  (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

The administration further categorized TdA as an invading force under the 18th-century Alien Enemies Act as federal authorities ramp up efforts to deport its members.

Tens of thousands of Haitians came to the U.S. under a Biden-era program permitting people from four countries, including Haiti, to stay for two years provided they had a financial sponsor and bought their own plane ticket. The Trump administration terminated that program and is seeking to revoke the status of those admitted under the Biden administration.

Migration from Haiti was under scrutiny in 2024 as the Trump campaign drew attention to massive amounts of Haitian migration under the parole processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans (CHNV), when 30,000 migrants were allowed in each month. At that point, if eligible, they could not be removed after their parole expired due to TPS. It affected a number of towns, including Springfield, Ohio, and Charleroi, Pennsylvania.

At a Michigan rally Tuesday celebrating his 100th day back in office, Trump championed the eight designations from last month, vowing his White House would continue deportations.

“We have also designated two bloodthirsty transnational gangs, MS-13 and Tren de Agua, TdA. They’ve been designated the highest level of terrorist and that lets us do a lot of things that you wouldn’t be able to do,” Trump said. “We’ve got to get them out of here before they kill more people. They’ve killed plenty. My administration has increased arrests of known and suspected terrorists by 655%. Is that okay? We tried to get it higher. We tried to get it higher. But the courts are giving us a hard time.” 

Haitian army soldiers patrol during a protest against insecurity in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Wednesday, April 16, 2025.  (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

“Democrats have vowed mass invasion and mass migration. We are delivering mass deportation, and it’s happening very fast. And the worst of the worst are being sent to a no nonsense prison in El Salvador,” Trump said, referring to El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center, known as CECOT. “Under President Trump, America is a dumping ground for criminals no longer. They’re not even trying to come in. But while we’re fighting to protect Americans, the radical left Democrats who are so bad for this country are fighting to protect TDA.” 

UNITED NATIONS SOUNDS ALARM THAT HAITI IS AT RISK OF COLLAPSING

Viv Ansanm, which means “Living Together,” is a powerful gang coalition that formed in September 2023 and is best known for launching a series of attacks starting in February 2024 across Port-au-Prince and beyond that shuttered Haiti’s main international airport for nearly three months, freed hundreds of inmates from the country’s two biggest prisons and eventually forced former Prime Minister Ariel Henry to resign.

The coalition united more than a dozen gangs, including two of Haiti’s biggest ones: G-9 and G-Pèp, which were fierce rivals.

Gangs control at least 85% of Haiti’s capital, with Viv Ansanm attacking once peaceful communities in recent weeks in a bid to control even more territory.

Gran Grif, also known as the Savien gang, forms part of the Viv Ansanm coalition and is led by Luckson Elan, best known as “General Luckson.” It is the biggest gang operating in Haiti’s central Artibonite region with some 100 members.

It was blamed for an attack in the town of Pont-Sondé in October 2024 in which more than 70 people were killed in one of the biggest massacres in Haiti’s recent history.

A police officer patrols an intersection in the Petion-Ville neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

Gran Grif was also blamed for a recent attack in the Petite Riviere community in which several people were killed, including an 11-year-old child.

Gran Grif was formed after Prophane Victor, an ex-member of Haiti’s Parliament who represented the Petite Riviere community in Artibonite, began arming young men in the region, according to a U.N. report. Victor was arrested in January.

Canada sanctioned him in June 2023, as did the U.S. in September 2024, accusing him of supporting gangs “that have committed serious human rights abuse.”

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More than 5,600 people were killed across Haiti last year, with gang violence leaving more than 1 million homeless in the country of nearly 12 million people, according to the U.N.

Fox News’ Adam Shaw and the Associated Press contributed to this report. 

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments on Wednesday in the case of a Catholic charter school in Oklahoma that is seeking the support of public funds.

St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School would be the nation’s first religious charter school, setting a precedent sure to be capitalized on by other religious institutions. Both the Oklahoma Supreme Court and Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, a Republican, have argued funding the school is unconstitutional. 

Oklahoma Gov. Gov. Kevin Stitt, also a Republican, argues the First Amendment allows funding for the school.

For Wednesday’s Supreme Court hearing, the St. Isidore case has been consolidated with the Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board, another similar case.

Sens. James Lankford, R-Okla., Josh Hawley, R-Mo., Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., Ted Budd, R-N.C., and Ted Cruz, R-Texas, filed an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court supporting the school In the brief, the Republican senators flipped Drummond’s First Amendment argument on the attorney general, arguing Oklahoma violated the First Amendment by denying St. Isidore a charter because it’s a religious school. 

LGBTQ CHRISTIANS CRUSADE AGAINST TRUMP’S RELIGIOUSLY ‘HOSTILE’ POLICIES DURING HOLY WEEK

The Supreme Court will hear arguments regarding the establishment of the nation’s first religious charter school on Wednesday. (Anna Moneymaker)

“It’s no secret that parents want to educate their children in line with their values. And a public good shouldn’t be denied to anyone based on their religion. The outcome of this case will be revolutionary for religious liberty and education freedom, and Oklahoma is at the forefront,” Stitt’s office said in a statement.

100 DAYS OF INJUNCTIONS, TRIALS AND ‘TEFLON DON’: TRUMP SECOND TERM MEETS ITS BIGGEST TESTS IN COURT

The Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board approved St. Isidore’s contract request in June 2023, allowing them to receive public funds. Lawsuits soon brought the case up to the Oklahoma Supreme Court, which ruled against the school last year.

The Supreme Court is now reviewing that ruling by Oklahoma’s highest court, which found that funding the school violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, which prohibits the government from making any law “respecting an establishment of religion.”

Gov. Kevin Stitt, R-Okla., (left) and Oklahoma Attorney General Drummond (right) disagree on whether the First Amendment allows the Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board to grant St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Charter School public funding.  (Getty/AP)

“Charter schools no doubt offer important educational innovations, but they bear all the classic indicia of public schools,” Drummond argued in SCOTUS filing.

Advocates of the school point to the Free Exercise clause, which has been used in recent Supreme Court rulings to defend public funding going to religious institutions. 

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ASKS SUPREME COURT TO REVIEW EL SALVADOR DEPORTATION FLIGHT CASE

“A State need not subsidize private education,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue in 2020. “But once a State decides to do so, it cannot disqualify some private schools solely because they are religious.”

U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts (L) and Associate Justices (L-R) Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh stand on the House floor ahead of the annual State of the Union address. (Getty Images)

The amicus brief from GOP lawmakers made a similar argument, claiming the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s ruling was ill-considered.

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“Upholding the Oklahoma Charter Schools Act with the included exclusion of religious organizations would set a dangerous precedent, signaling that religious organizations are not welcome in public projects. This would not only violate the First Amendment, but it would also deprive society of the valuable contributions that these organizations make,” the Republican senators wrote. 

Fox News’ Deirdre Heavey contributed to this report

After President Donald Trump joked about wanting to be the pope, Sen. Lindsey Graham asked for the papal conclave and Catholics to maintain an “open mind” about the idea in apparent jest.

“I was excited to hear that President Trump is open to the idea of being the next Pope. This would truly be a dark horse candidate, but I would ask the papal conclave and Catholic faithful to keep an open mind about this possibility!” the senator wrote on X while sharing video of Trump’s comments.  

“The first Pope-U.S. President combination has many upsides. Watching for white smoke…. Trump MMXXVIII!” Graham added.

TRUMP JOKES HE’D LIKE TO BE POPE, ‘NUMBER 1 CHOICE’ – THEN NAMES A REAL CONTENDER

Sen. Lindsey Graham responded in kind after President Donald Trump jokingly suggested he’d like to be the pope, writing on X that he was “excited” the president was “open to the idea.” (Left: William B. Plowman/NBC via Getty Images; Right: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Fox News Digital reached out to Graham’s office for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

Trump jokingly said earlier on Tuesday that his “number one choice” for the new pope would be himself.

CONSERVATIVE BACKLASH ERUPTS AFTER TRUMP’S GRAHAM ENDORSEMENT: ‘I AM NOT WITH TRUMP AT ALL WITH THIS ONE’

He then went on to say he has “no preference,” adding, “we have a cardinal that happens to be out of a place called New York, who’s very good.” 

The president appeared to be referring to Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who serves as Archbishop of New York.

CONCLAVE TO PICK NEXT POPE TO BEGIN MAY 7, VATICAN SAYS

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Trump has endorsed Graham for re-election, though the move sparked conservative backlash.