NationalWatch

Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard announced the release of the first batch of Robert F. Kennedy assassination files on Friday after teasing the news earlier this month. 

“Nearly 60 years after the tragic assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy, the American people will, for the first time, have the opportunity to review the federal government’s investigation thanks to the leadership of President Trump,” Gabbard said in a statement released. “My team is honored that the President entrusted us to lead the declassification efforts and to shine a long-overdue light on the truth. I extend my deepest thanks for Bobby Kennedy and his families’ support.”

Health and Human Services Secretary (HHS) Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. said in the same statement that releasing the files was “a necessary step toward restoring trust in American government.“

GABBARD SAYS RFK, MLK JR RECORDS ‘READY TO RELEASE’ IN DAYS, HAS ‘HUNTERS’ LOOKING AT FBI, CIA FOR MORE FILES

“I commend President Trump for his courage and his commitment to transparency. I’m grateful also to Tulsi Gabbard for her dogged efforts to root out and declassify these documents,” he continued. 

Likewise, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt reacted to the files’ release on X on Friday morning, writing, “RFK Files have been released. Promises Made. Promises Kept.”

Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard announced the release of the first batch of Robert F. Kennedy assassination files on Friday after teasing the news earlier this month. (Steven Ferdman/Getty Images)

During a Friday morning appearance on “FOX and Friends,” Gabbard said 10,000 pages had been released — none of which had previously been digitized or publicly viewed. Gabbard said the files included documents regarding the government’s investigation of the assassination and “questions and theories” as the investigation played out, as well as State Department conversations and insight. 

“The significance of this is huge,” Gabbard said. “It’s been nearly 60 years since Senator Kennedy was assassinated. We’re obviously not stopping here.”

WEEKS AFTER EPSTEIN FILE FALLOUT, A NEW DEADLINE LOOMS IN THE RELEASE OF THE RFK AND MLK FILES

Gabbard also said that “just the other day, we discovered over 50,000 additional pages solely around Senator Kennedy’s assassination,” saying she had “over 100 people at National Archives” scanning through the documents in anticipation of a second release. 

“Nearly six decades have passed since the tragic assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy and these historic files have been hidden from the American people all this time — until now,” a White House spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “In the name of maximum transparency, President Trump has released over 10,000 pages of the RFK files with more to come. There has never been a more transparent president in the history of our country than President Donald J. Trump. Another promise made and promise kept.”

Gabbard had previously mentioned the files’ drop on April 10 during a Cabinet meeting at the White House, saying at the time that more than 100 people had been “working around the clock” scanning paperwork related to both the Martin Luther King Jr. and RFK assassinations and subsequent investigations. 

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. said in the same statement that releasing the files was “a necessary step toward restoring trust in American government.” (Jon Cherry/Getty Images)

“These have been sitting in boxes in storage for decades,” Gabbard told President Donald Trump. Kennedy was also present during the meeting. 

“They have never been scanned or seen before. We’ll have those ready to release here within the next few days,” Gabbard said. 

The RFK files’ release comes as a result of Trump’s declassification executive order issued shortly after he started his second term. The order specifically seeks to declassify files on the assassinations of former President John F. Kennedy, his brother Robert and civil rights icon King.

EPSTEIN FILES DEBACLE SPURS NEW INTEREST IN CONTENTS OF PROMISED RFK, MLK ASSASSINATION FILES

Trump had previously promised to declassify the documents while on the campaign trail, saying at the time, “When I return to the White House, I will declassify and unseal all JFK assassination-related documents. It’s been 60 years, time for the American people to know the truth.”

According to the order, the director of national intelligence and other officials were expected to submit their proposed release plans for the RFK and MLK files on March 9. 

The RFK files’ release comes as a result of Trump’s declassification executive order issued shortly after he started his second term. (AP Photo/Laurence Harris, File)

DNI and the attorney general were previously given a Feb. 7 deadline to submit their release plans for the JFK files. 

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The Justice Department saw a fallout in late February after releasing a batch of Jeffrey Epstein files. Many of the documents publicized then had already been released during the federal criminal trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s former lover and convicted accomplice. 

Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano contributed to this report. 

U.S. District Judge William Fitzpatrick has agreed to delay the Justice Department’s motion to dismiss its case against Henrry Josue Villatoro Santos, the Virginia-based Salvadorian national accused of being a top leader of the MS-13 gang in the U.S.

The ruling, handed down Friday, directs the government to keep Villatoro Santos in the custody of U.S. Marshals Service, and not be transferred to DHS officials until the appeal is resolved.  

Villatoro Santos was arrested less than a month ago in Woodbridge, Virginia, and was charged with being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm.

His high-profile arrest was supervised by both U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel from a nearby tactical center.

JUDGE BOASBERG POISED TO HOLD TRUMP ADMIN IN CONTEMPT, TAKES DOWN NAMES OF DHS OFFICIALS: ‘PRETTY SKETCHY’

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia is seen in Alexandria, Va. (Photo by Bonnie Cash/Getty Images) ((Bonnie Cash/Getty Images))

At the time, Bondi touted his capture and referred to him as the “top MS-13 leader” on the East Coast.

Shortly after, however, the Justice Department abruptly filed a motion to dismiss their case against Villatoro Santos – prompting speculation as to what would happen to him next.

His counsel said during an April 15 hearing that the government had not clarified next steps for their client, and suggested the Trump administration might move to summarily deport him without due process.

Alleged top leader of MS-13 was arrested in Virginia on Thursday, March 27, 2025. ((The Ingraham Angle))

Villatoro Santos’ lawyer, Muhammad Elsayed, claimed during the April 15 hearing that the decision to dismiss the case came from “high up” in the Trump administration, and argued if he were released, he would likely be deported almost immediately to CECOT, the Salvadorian prison housing hundreds of U.S. migrants. 

“They have already determined the outcome, that he’ll go to the worst prison in the western hemisphere,” Elsayed said earlier this week.

At the hearing, his attorneys also invoked the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was deported last month to El Salvador for being an alleged MS-13 member.

Two federal judges in Texas and New York also temporarily blocked the Trump administration‘s use of the Alien Enemies Act law deport certain nationals, siding with their contention that the plaintiffs in question are at risk of removal by the Trump administration, possibly without the opportunity to seek habeas relief in a U.S. court.

Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks during a news conference at the Department of Justice headquarters in Washington, Wednesday, April 16, 2025.  (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

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The updates follow a 5–4 Supreme Court ruling that lifted a lower court’s restraining order, allowing the Trump administration to temporarily resume use of the Alien Enemies Act — albeit with new due process protections for migrants.

The high court said individuals slated for deportation must have the opportunity to challenge their removal, with sufficient time to do so in a U.S. court.

 Fox News’ Jake Gibson contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump announced that conservative commentator Mark Levin, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, Florida state Sen. Joe Gruters and former NYPD detective Bo Dietl will serve on the Homeland Security Advisory Council.

The president described service on the panel as a “big honor.”

“I am proud to announce the formation of my revamped Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC), which is comprised of Top Experts in their field, who are highly respected by their peers. It is a big honor to serve on HSAC, and I know the new Members, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, Mark Levin, Bo Dietl, and Joseph Gruters, will do an incredible job,” the president declared in a post on Truth Social.

‘MASS SURVEILLANCE’: CONSERVATIVES SOUND ALARM OVER TRUMP ADMIN’S REAL ID ROLLOUT

Left: President Donald Trump smiles as he meets with President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador in the Oval Office of the White House April 14, 2025, in Washington, D.C.; Right: Mark Levin, host of ‘Life, Liberty & Levin’ on Fox News, speaks during the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) Annual Leadership Meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Saturday, Nov. 6, 2021 (Left: Win McNamee/Getty Images; Right: Bridget Bennett/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“Under Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem’s leadership, HSAC will work hard on developing new Policies and Strategies that will help us secure our Border, deport Illegal Criminal Thugs, stop the flow of Fentanyl and other illegal drugs that are killing our Citizens, and MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN. Congratulations to all!” he added.

Levin, a conservative talk radio show star and author, hosts the TV show “Life, Liberty, & Levin” on the Fox News Channel.

Last year, Trump urged Gruters to run for the role of Florida chief financial officer. 

IRS AND DHS REACH HISTORIC DEAL TO AID IN PURSUIT OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS SUBJECT TO DEPORTATION

“RUN JOE, RUN! This is an Endorsement I would love to make,” he declared in a March 2024 Truth Social post.

Gruters noted in a November post on X, “Whether via appointment or at the ballot box in 2026, I look forward to running for CFO as President Trump’s endorsed candidate.”

WHITE HOUSE DEFENDS ICE, SAYS DEMS, MEDIA WANT ‘SICK’ CRIMINAL MIGRANTS LEFT ON STREETS

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U.S. Rep. Jimmy Patronis, R-Fla., who previously served as Florida’s CFO, joined Congress this month after winning election to former Rep. Matt Gaetz’s old seat in the Sunshine State’s 1st Congressional District. 

Patronis resigned from the Florida CFO role before the end of his term, and Gov. Ron DeSantis can appoint a replacement.

The Florida CFO election is slated to take place in 2026.

FIRST ON FOX: The Trump administration rolled out a revamped COVID.gov website Friday showing the “true origins” of the coronavirus, while admonishing Democrats and the media for discrediting the theory the virus leaked from a lab and alternative health treatments, and for imposing strict mandates. 

“This administration prioritizes transparency over all else,” a senior administration official told Fox News Digital Friday. “The American people deserve to know the truth about the Covid pandemic and we will always find ways to reach communities with that message.” 

The website, which previously had focused on promoting the coronavirus vaccine to Americans, now walks readers through evidence supporting the lab leak theory, how former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci promoted the idea that COVID-19 originated naturally, former President Joe Biden pardoning Fauci for “any offenses against” the U.S. he may have committed, and providing details on the origin of the “social distancing” rules and mask mandates. 

LEGACY MEDIA, DC JOURNOS COME AROUND TO INVESTIGATING DEM SCANDALS YEARS AFTER CONSERVATIVES SOUNDED ALARM

The new COVID.gov website showing what the White House calls the “true origins of” the coronavirus.  (Covid.gov )

“‘The Proximal Origin of SARS-CoV-2’ publication — which was used repeatedly by public health officials and the media to discredit the lab leak theory — was promoted by Dr. Fauci to push the preferred narrative that COVID-19 originated naturally,” the site states, before launching into five bullet points on the origins of the virus. 

The new site outlines that a biological characteristic found in the virus was not found in nature, bolstering the lab leak theory, while noting that Wuhan, China, where the first coronavirus case was found, is also home to China’s “foremost SARs research lab” and that “if there was evidence of a natural origin it would have already surfaced. But it hasn’t.”

HOUSE SUBCOMMITTEE CONCLUDES COVID-19 ‘MOST LIKELY’ LEAKED FROM WUHAN LAB

The Trump administration launched a new COVID.gov website April 18, 2025.  (Covid.gov )

The Trump administration’s CIA reported earlier in 2025 that a lab leak was the likely origin of the COVID-19 virus, which had been passed off by media outlets and scientists as a likely conspiracy theory during the early days of the pandemic. The Department of Energy under the Biden administration and former FBI Director Christopher Wray in 2023 also said evidence indicated the coronarius was the result of a lab leak. 

CREDIBILITY CRISIS: NEW YORK TIMES HELPED MISLEAD AMERICA OVER COVID LAB LEAK THEORY

The website also walks readers through the origins of COVID-era rules, such as mask mandates and social distancing. 

“The ‘6 feet apart’ social distancing recommendation — which shut down schools and small business across the country — was arbitrary and not based on science,” it states. “During closed door testimony, Dr. Fauci testified that guidance ‘sort of just appeared.” 

The website says of mask mandates: “There was no conclusive evidence that masks effectively protected Americans from COVID-19. Public health officials flip-flopped on the efficacy of masks without providing Americans scientific data — causing a massive uptick in public distrust.” 

Many media outlets dismissed Trump in 2020 when he said he had seen evidence that the virus originated in a Wuhan, China, lab.  (Alex Brandon/The Associated Press)

The website notes that content on the page was sourced directly from the House Oversight Committee’s Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic. 

“Public health officials often mislead the American people through conflicting messaging, knee-jerk reactions, and a lack of transparency,” the website states under a portion called “COVID-19 misinformation.” “Most egregiously, the federal government demonized alternative treatments and disfavored narratives, such as the lab leak theory, in a shameful effort to coerce and control the American people’s health decisions.” 

TRUMP MADE ME DO IT: LIBERAL MEDIA BLAMES ITS DISMISSAL OF LAB LEAK THEORY ON EX-PRESIDENT’S ‘XENOPHOBIA’

The new COVID.gov website takes aim at narratives pushed by media and Democrats during the pandemic.  (Covid.gov )

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Many media outlets dismissed Trump in 2020 when he said he had seen evidence that the virus originated in a Wuhan, China, lab, before U.S. intelligence officials such as Wray and the Department of Energy reported that the virus likely originated there. 

Many outlets have since published articles showing the theory is credible, including the New York Times running a March column claiming the scientific community “badly misled” the public in an effort to suppress theory, even after the paper’s own science writer called the theory “racist.” 

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials and the U.S. DOGE Service are reportedly looking to add a Medicare database to their arsenal of tools to use in their crackdown on illegal immigrants. The Washington Post published its report on the agencies’ alleged plan on Wednesday, citing a person familiar with the matter and internal documents.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) allegedly manages the database, which contains personal information — including addresses — sought by ICE, according to the Post. The database is known as the Integrated Data Repository (IDR), which acts as an archive for beneficiary information, Medicare claims and more.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s D.C. headquarters shown next to the DOGE logo (Getty Images)

DOGE VOLUNTEER CREDITS TRUMP FOR UNPRECEDENTED EFFORT TO CURB ‘JAW-DROPPING’ SOCIAL SECURITY FRAUD

The outlet said ICE is asking CMS to compare the Social Security numbers of individuals believed to be in the country illegally to Medicare claims to help determine their addresses.

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump issued a memorandum aimed at preventing illegal immigrants from obtaining benefits through the Social Security Act, including Medicare. The memorandum establishes a Medicare and Medicaid fraud prosecution program and expands the Social Security Administration’s existing enforcement initiatives.

The outlet said ICE is asking CMS to compare the Social Security numbers of individuals believed to be in the country illegally to Medicare claims to help determine their addresses. (Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

DOGE’S ACCESS TO CRITICAL IRS SYSTEM CONTAINING TAXPAYER INFORMATION IS IMMINENT

Elon Musk, who leads DOGE, has spoken about the “waste and fraud” in federal entitlement programs, including Medicare.

“The waste and fraud in entitlement spending — which is most of the federal spending is entitlements — so, that’s, like, the big one to eliminate. That’s the, sort of half-trillion, maybe $6-700 billion a year,” Musk told Fox Business’ Larry Kudlow.

Then-President-elect Donald Trump greets Elon Musk as he arrives to attend a viewing of the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket on Nov.19, 2024 in Brownsville, Texas (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

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The alleged joint initiative between DOGE and ICE seems to align with the Trump administration’s crackdowns on illegal immigration and government waste.

ICE did not respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is probing “a major pediatric teaching hospital” over the alleged firing of a nurse who sought a religious exemption to avoid administering puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to children.

“The Department will robustly enforce federal laws protecting these courageous whistleblowers, including laws that protect healthcare professionals from being forced to violate their religious beliefs or moral convictions,” Acting HHS OCR Director Anthony Archeval said in a statement.

While HHS has not confirmed the hospital’s identity, it is believed to be Texas Children’s Hospital (TCH) — the largest children’s hospital in the U.S. — as the investigation follows whistleblower nurse Vanessa Sivadge’s testimony on Capitol Hill. Sivadge first came forward publicly in June 2024 and was later fired in August 2024.

Protesters during a rally at Churchill Square in support of trans youth in Alberta following the ‘Sing With Love’ concert at McDougall United Church, on Feb. 11, 2024, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

DEMS SPAR WITH WHISTLEBLOWER WHO EXPOSED CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL FOR PERFORMING TRANS SURGERIES ON MINORS

Sivadge told lawmakers that she had witnessed “disturbing trends and concerning practices” relating to the treatment of children diagnosed with gender dysphoria. She also said that she “observed the powerful and irreversible effects” of treatments that patients were told were “lifesaving.” 

“I witnessed firsthand how doctors emotionally blackmailed parents by telling them that if they did not affirm their child’s false identity, their child would harm themselves. In particular, I was saddened to see young girls suffering from profound mental health struggles like depression and anxiety, many of whom had also suffered sexual abuse or trauma, persuaded by doctors at Texas Children’s that a hormone would resolve their gender confusion,” Sivadge told lawmakers.

Dr. Eithan Haim speaks to the media after appearing for an arraignment hearing Monday, June 17, 2024, in Houston. Haim, who calls himself a whistleblower on transgender care for minors has been indicted on federal charges of illegally obtaining private information on patients who were not under his care, with intent to cause harm to the nation’s largest pediatric hospital. He has pleaded not guilty. (Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)

HOSPITALS WARNED THEY MUST PROTECT CHILDREN FROM CHEMICAL AND SURGICAL MUTILATION: HHS AGENCY MEMO

Dr. Eithan Haim, who was accused of violating HIPAA while in surgical training at Baylor College of Medicine, which is affiliated with TCH, also blew the whistle on the hospital for “lying about the existence of its transgender program.” The Biden DOJ brought charges against Haim for the alleged HIPAA violations, but the case was ultimately dropped under the Trump administration.

Haim claimed the hospital was engaging in fraudulent billing practices to hide the fact that it was carrying out transgender procedures on minors even though it was against Texas law. This included recording mastectomies as “breast reduction” surgeries and billing testosterone prescribed to a teen girl under a male diagnosis.

HHS memo reminds hospitals and providers about Trump’s policies forbidding child mutilation. (Getty Images)

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In her testimony, Sivadge said that federal agents came to her home when investigating the whistleblower, now known to be Haim, because of her objections to transgender medicine. She described the interaction as intimidating and said that one of the special agents “effectively asked me to compromise my Christian beliefs and made veiled threats regarding my career and safety if I didn’t comply with their demands.”

Sivadge’s attorney filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on April 11, alleging that she “observed TCH doctors, after very little deliberation or critical analysis, embarking children on dangerous and often irreversible courses of ‘gender-affirming’ treatment.”

According to the complaint, TCH “temporarily” paused “gender-affirming services” for minors after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in February 2022 that such treatments could constitute child abuse. The treatments were banned in the state following the passage of a bill in May 2023, which went into effect in September 2023. According to Sivadge’s attorney, she asked to be transferred back to cardiology in May 2024, citing her religious beliefs. 

Sivadge publicly blew the whistle on TCH on June 18, 2024, and was asked not to report to work the next day, according to the complaint. Just days later, on June 21, she was placed on administrative leave and was officially terminated in August 2024. TCH alleged that the termination of her employment was due to improper access to medical records.

On Jan. 28, 2025, President Donald Trump signed the “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation” order, which prevents minors from undergoing transgender treatments. In accordance with this order, HHS has issued guidelines for prospective whistleblowers.

Fox News has reached out to TCH and HHS for comment.

A federal judge in Baltimore issued a preliminary injunction Thursday restricting the Department of Government Efficiency’s access to Social Security data. 

U.S. District Judge Ellen Hollander, an Obama appointee, said DOGE-affiliated staffers must purge any of the non-anonymized Social Security data that they have received since Jan. 20. They are also barred from making any changes to the computer code or software used by the Social Security Administration, must remove any software or code they might have already installed, and are forbidden from disclosing any of that code to others.

The injunction does allow DOGE staffers to access data that’s been redacted or stripped of anything personally identifiable, if they undergo training and background checks. 

“The objective to address fraud, waste, mismanagement, and bloat is laudable, and one that the American public presumably applauds and supports,” Hollander wrote in the ruling issued late Thursday night. “Indeed, the taxpayers have every right to expect their government to make sure that their hard earned money is not squandered.”

BIDEN RETURNS TO PODIUM FOR FIRST TIME TO SLAM TRUMP’S SOCIAL SECURITY PLANS: ‘WRECK IT SO THEY COULD ROB IT’

Demonstrators gather outside the Edward A. Garmatz United States District Courthouse in Baltimore, on Friday, March 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

But that’s not the issue, Hollander said — the issue is with how DOGE, led by billionaire Elon Musk, wants to do the work.

“For some 90 years, SSA has been guided by the foundational principle of an expectation of privacy with respect to its records. This case exposes a wide fissure in the foundation,” the judge wrote.

The case was brought by a group of labor unions and retirees who allege DOGE’s recent actions violate privacy laws and present massive information security risks. 

During a federal court hearing Tuesday in Baltimore, Hollander repeatedly asked the government’s attorneys why DOGE needs “seemingly unfettered access” to the agency’s troves of sensitive personal information to uncover Social Security fraud.

TEXAS POISED TO CREATE ITS OWN VERSION OF DOGE AS BILL PASSES BOTH CHAMBERS

“What is it we’re doing that needs all of that information?” Hollander said, questioning whether most of the data could be anonymized.

Attorneys for the Trump administration said changing the process would slow down their efforts.

“While anonymization is possible, it is extremely burdensome,” Justice Department attorney Bradley Humphreys told the court. He argued the DOGE access doesn’t deviate significantly from normal practices inside the agency, where employees and auditors are routinely allowed to search its databases.

The insignia of the Social Security Administration.  (Fox News)

But attorneys for the plaintiffs called it “a sea change” in terms of how the agency handles sensitive information.

Skye Perryman, President and CEO of the legal services group Democracy Forward, which is behind the lawsuit, said the ruling has brought “significant relief for the millions of people who depend on the Social Security Administration to safeguard their most personal and sensitive information.” 

SCHUMER CALLS ON LELAND DUDEK, ACTING COMMISSIONER OF SSA, TO RESIGN

Hollander made clear that her order didn’t apply to SSA workers who aren’t affiliated with DOGE, so they can still access any data they use in the course of ordinary work. But DOGE staffers who want access to the anonymized data must first undergo the typical training and background checks required of other Social Security Administration staffers, she said.

Billionaire Elon Musk leads the Department of Government Effeciency.  (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

Hollander, 75, is the latest judge to consider a DOGE-related case. Many of her inquiries Tuesday focused on whether the Social Security case differs significantly from another Maryland case challenging DOGE’s access to data at three other agencies: the Education Department, the Treasury Department and the Office of Personnel Management. In that case, an appeals court recently blocked a preliminary injunction and cleared the way for DOGE to once again access people’s private data.

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Hollander’s injunction could also be appealed to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which sided with the Trump administration in other cases, including allowing DOGE access to the U.S. Agency for International Development and letting executive orders against diversity, equity and inclusion move forward.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicated that it needs to be determined within days whether achieving a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine is “doable in the short term,” warning that he thinks the U.S. will “move on” if it is not achievable.

Rubio said that if it is “not possible,” he thinks President Donald Trump is “probably at a point where he’s gonna say, ‘Well, we’re done.'”

But Rubio noted that the U.S. will help if either or both sides are “serious about peace.”

REPUBLICAN USES GEORGE WASHINGTON, AMERICAN REVOLUTION TO REJECT NOTION UKRAINE SHOULD SURRENDER TO RUSSIA

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio looks on upon his arrival at the Quai d’Orsay, France’s Minister of Foreign Affairs before a bilateral meeting with his French counterpart in Paris on April 17, 2025.  (JULIEN DE ROSA/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

“If it’s not gonna happen, then we’re just gonna move on,” Rubio declared.

“@POTUS has been clear: The time to end the war between Russia and Ukraine is now. Today in Paris, @SE_MiddleEast, @SPE_Kellogg and I met with leaders from France, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Ukraine to talk about how we can stop the killing and reach a just and sustainable peace,” Rubio noted in a post on X. 

RUBIO ANNOUNCES CLOSURE OF STATE DEPARTMENT EFFORT THAT ‘WAS SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD ALREADY’

The war continues to rage, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky declaring in a post, “This is how Russia began this Good Friday – with ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, Shaheds – maiming our people and cities.”

U.S. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., staunchly supports Ukraine and wants the U.S. to provide the Eastern European nation with arms to bolster its war effort.

JD VANCE BLASTS ZELENSKYY’S ‘60 MINUTES’ COMMENTS AS ‘ABSURD,’ ‘NOT PRODUCTIVE’

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“European Allies and U.S. should arm Ukraine to the max and help them defend their country against the Russians, and now the North Koreans and Chinese,” Bacon said in a recent tweet.

President Donald Trump said Thursday that China has been reaching out “a lot” ever since he nearly tripled U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports, and he suggested to reporters that the two nations could reach a deal in as soon as three to four weeks. 

During a gaggle with reporters after signing executive orders related to deregulating the seafood industry, Trump was asked about his ongoing negotiations with Chinese officials and, in particular, whether he has yet spoken to Chinese President Xi Jinping about the ongoing trade battle.

“They have reached out a number of times,” Trump said, referring to high-level Chinese officials. When asked how frequently they’ve been in touch since last week – after Trump tripled his Chinese tariff increase from 54% to 145% – the president responded, “A lot.”

GORDON CHANG: TRUMP TARIFFING CHINA AT THE WORST POSSIBLE TIME FOR XI JINPING

Trump shows a chart of his new tariffs this month, which have since been raised on China to 145%. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

His comments come amid media reports that Trump has indicated he is unwilling to reach out to China first amid the ongoing trade war. According to sources close to Trump, U.S. officials have been urging the Chinese to initiate a call between Xi and Trump, but so far they have not.    

When asked if he had spoken to Xi yet, Trump would not confirm one way or the other.

“I’ve never said whether or not [it’s] happened, but I have a very good relationship with President Xi, and I think it’s going to continue. They have reached out a number of times,” Trump told reporters. 

TALKING TARIFFS: TRUMP TOUTS TRADE NEGOTIATIONS AS HE MEETS WITH ITALIAN PRIME MINISTER

The press then quickly pounced on Trump’s response, requesting the president to clarify if he was referring to Xi or other Chinese officials when he said, “They have reached out a number of times.”

“I view it very similar,” Trump responded. “It would be top levels of China, and if you knew [Xi], you would know that if they reached out, he knew exactly – he knew everything about it. He runs it very tight, very strong, very smart. And, yeah, we’re talking to China.”

Chinese President Xi Jinping and President Donald Trump (Pedro Pardo/Pool/Getty Images | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The president said that while some have urged him to fast-track his negotiations, he believes there is “plenty” of time left to make a deal with China and expects it will eventually come to fruition.

UK URGED TO ALIGN WITH TRUMP ON CHINA OR LOSE FAVORED STATUS IN WASHINGTON 

“I would think over the next three or four weeks, I think maybe the whole thing could be concluded,” Trump told reporters Thursday. 

President Trump said he expects a deal to be sealed between the U.S. and China over tariffs, telling reporters it could come as soon as three to four weeks. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato)

The president added that if a deal cannot be reached, things will “be fine.”

“At a certain point, if we don’t make a deal, we’ll just set a limit. We’ll set a tariff. We’ll set some parameters, and we’ll say, ‘Come in and shop,'” Trump said. “They always have a right not to do it, so they can say, ‘Well, we don’t want it, so we’re not going to shop there, we’re not going to shop in the store of America.’ We have something that nobody else has, and that’s the American consumer.”

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The Trump administration placed roughly 75% of full-time AmeriCorps employees on administrative leave on Wednesday as the administration looks to rebuild the Clinton-era volunteer agency from scratch, Fox News Digital learned.

A total of 535 full-time AmeriCorps employees out of the agency’s 700 staff were placed on leave, an administration official confirmed to Fox News Digital Thursday.

Volunteers with AmeriCorps’ National Civilian Community Corps, a program that focuses specifically on volunteer opportunities for youth between the ages of 18–26, were preemptively pulled out of the field ahead of the Trump administration placing the agency’s full-time staffers on leave Wednesday, Fox Digital learned. Roughly $250 million in AmeriCorps contracts have also been canceled. 

AmeriCorps is expected to remain in existence, according to the admin official, but the operations will essentially restart from scratch.

IRS CUTTING ITS WORKFORCE BY 25%, ELIMINATING AGENCY’S CIVIL RIGHTS OFFICE

Then-President Bill Clinton with AmeriCorps youth during an event at the University of Maryland. (Getty Images)

Former President Bill Clinton created the AmeriCorps National Service Program in 1993, during his first year in office, as a volunteer arm of the government to help aid communities nationwide. 

The agency has received roughly $1 billion in taxpayer funds every year, the House Higher Education and Workforce Development Subcommittee previously found, but had failed eight consecutive audits across the past decade. 

“Unfortunately, AmeriCorps has a long history of abusing taxpayer dollars,” chair of the House subcommittee, Republican Utah Rep. Burgess Owens, said in a statement in December 2024. 

“AmeriCorps is entrusted with over $1 billion of taxpayer funds every year, with the result of failure of eight consecutive audits,” he continued. “In 2023, the AmeriCorps Inspector General issued a ‘Management Challenges’ report detailing significant challenges AmeriCorps faces. This includes being unable to detect fraud. We have no real idea when AmeriCorps will be able to have a clean audit again. In fact, this year’s audit includes 78 recommendations still open, even after AmeriCorps said it addressed 20 last year.” 

Then-President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden pose with members of AmeriCorps on arrival at Joint Base Charleston in North Charleston, South Carolina, on Jan. 19, 2025.  (Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images)

Fox News Digital examined AmeriCorp’s budget in recent years and found its 2023 fiscal year budget stood at $1,312,806, which included $99,686,000 in expenses and salaries, while fiscal year 2024 saw a budget of $1,262,806, which included the same figure for expenses and salaries. The Biden administration proposed a budget of $1,342,093,000 for fiscal year 2025. 

The agency’s annual management report for fiscal year 2024 showed that it had $3.7 billion in assets, including over $1.5 billion in investments.

Diversity, equity and inclusion and climate change initiatives have been a top priority for the volunteer-focused agency, with the 2024 annual management report identifying “advancing racial and economic equity” as one of its top priorities, Fox Digital found. 

President Donald Trump gestures to the crowd at a campaign event on July 1, 2023 in Pickens, South Carolina. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

“AmeriCorps has a decades-long commitment to advancing racial and economic equity through national service and volunteering,” the report stated. “These efforts are designed to expand pathways to opportunity for all Americans. Racial and economic equity will be central to AmeriCorps’ planning and implementation of all priorities, ensuring AmeriCorps members and volunteers reflect the diversity of the American people and the communities in which they serve.” 

Owens said in 2024 that while some of the agency’s programs are “well-intentioned,” taxpayers should not continue funding the office and called for it to land on the Department of Government Efficiency’s chopping block.

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“It makes no sense to expand this agency or give it more money when it continuously fails to meet basic accountability standards,” he said. “Every time its representatives come before this Committee, AmeriCorps assures us that they will implement reforms, and year after year nothing changes. We can tell AmeriCorps to modernize and reform until we are blue in the face, but nothing will change unless we recognize the system is built on a flawed idea. It is time to admit that this is a failed program that needs a complete overhaul or elimination. It should be on DOGE’s chopping block.” 

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard declassified a Biden-era plan to counter domestic terrorism that called for greater information-sharing with tech companies and a legislative push to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.

Developed in 2021 after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, the plan outlined a government-wide effort to track how foreign actors use disinformation to radicalize Americans and urged coordination with private industry on domestic threats. It also called for measures to curb in-prison radicalization and study extremism within the military.

Among its proposals was a plan to “develop awareness training for active service military members, DOD employees and contractors, and those service members separating or retiring from the military on the threat posed by domestic terrorism, the potential targeting of those with military training by violent extremist actors, and relevant reporting mechanisms.” 

TRUMP THREATENS IRAN OVER NUKES AS DNI GABBARD CLAIMS TEHRAN IS NOT BUILDING BOMBS

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard declassified a Biden-era plan to counter domestic terrorism that called for information-sharing with tech companies and pushing for a legislative ban on assault weapons.  (Reuters )

The strategy had a four-part goal: “Understand and Share Domestic Terrorism-Related Information,” “Prevent Domestic Terrorism Recruitment and Mobilization to Violence,” “Disrupt and Deter Domestic Terrorism Activity” and “Confront Long-Term Contributors to Domestic Terrorism.”

The Biden administration plan encouraged “teaching and learning of civics education that provides students with the skill to fully participate in civic life,” and promoted “literacy education for both children and adult learners and existing proven interventions to foster resiliency to disinformation.”

It also called for advancing “inclusion” in the Covid-19 response and addressing “hate crime reporting barriers faced by disadvantaged communities by promoting law enforcement training and resources to prevent and address bias-motivated crimes; improve federal hate crimes data and analysis to eliminate hate crimes underreporting; mitigate xenophobia and bias.”

DEMS WHO HAVE SPOKEN PASSIONATELY AGAINST DOMESTIC TERRORISM GO SILENT AS TESLA TORCHERS ARE CHARGED

The Biden administration launched the first-ever National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism in 2021, identifying domestic terrorism as a major national security threat in the wake of the Capitol riot. (Screenshot/Biden speech)

Former President Joe Biden’s administration launched the first-ever National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism in 2021, identifying domestic terrorism as a major national security threat in the wake of the Capitol riot. 

Gabbard declassified the strategy after prompting from conservative groups like America First Legal.

The group wrote to Gabbard earlier this month, asking her to declassify the strategy amid concerns of “weaponization” of power by “censoring disfavored speech on the Internet by labeling such speech ‘misinformation,’ ‘disinformation,’ ‘hate speech,’ ‘domestic terrorism.'”

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Biden’s summer 2021 counterterrorism strategy garnered criticism from the American Civil Liberties Union, which said it “reflects the government’s ever-expanding authority to surveil and monitor American communities; law enforcement guidance that permits profiling on the basis of race, religion, or national origin; and the use of abusive tools such as the watchlisting system against people for constitutionally protected speech and association.”

After visiting the controversial Salvadoran mega-prison known as the Terrorist Confinement Center (CECOT), freshman Congressman Riley Moore, R-W.Va., says he is “even more determined” to support the president’s efforts to secure the U.S. from criminal illegal aliens.

This comes as the Trump administration’s scheme of sending the “worst of the worst” migrant gang members to CECOT has caused national controversy, with some outraged Democrats accusing President Donald Trump of “kidnapping” people for deportation.

Moore said that while at CECOT he came face to face with some of the country’s “most brutal criminals, including murderers, rapists, pedophiles, and terrorists,” and “extremely violent criminals recently deported from the U.S.”

After his visit to El Salvador, he said: “I leave now even more determined to support President Trump’s efforts to secure our homeland.”

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

Rep. Riley Moore visits the Terrorist Confinement Center (CECOT) in El Salvador which houses some 14,000 gang members and criminals, including several hundred deported gang members from the U.S. At left, an MS-13 gang member with the letters “MS” tattooed on his chest. (Office of Rep. Riley Moore)

Moore told Fox News Digital he visited the prison with a congressional delegation led by House Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith, R-Mo. The delegation toured the prison this week and spoke with several inmates.

“These are dangerous individuals,” he said. “We had several of them tell us, and they were not afraid to share it, [that] they are killers and committed homicides.”  

“It’s not something that it seems that they regret one way or the other, from what I could glean from it,” he explained.

While touring the prison, Moore said he spoke with two deportees from the U.S., both of whom were originally from El Salvador and had been deported from Virginia and California. He said one had been in the U.S. for 20 years and was a high-ranking member of the brutal gang MS-13. According to Moore, both deportees “were not afraid to admit” that they had killed people.

TOM HOMAN ‘DISGUSTED’ BY DEM SENATOR’S TRIP TO BRING HOME ALLEGED MS-13 GANG MEMBER

Moore told Fox News Digital he visited the prison with a congressional delegation led by House Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith. The delegation toured the prison this week and spoke with several inmates.

He said there is a lot of misinformation about the prison, leading the American public to believe that it is a kind of “death camp” for deportees.

“That is not true,” he said, pointing out that of approximately 14,000 inmates in CECOT, only a few hundred were deported from the United States.

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“They are in austere conditions in that prison, there’s no doubt about that,” he explained, adding, “to be clear, they don’t have the death penalty in El Salvador.”

That being said, Moore said the impact of CECOT and Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele’s crackdown on gang crime has been “miraculous” for the people of El Salvador.

BUKELE SAYS TRUMP HAS 350 MILLION AMERICANS TO ‘LIBERATE’ BY ENDING CRIME, TERRORISM

While touring the prison, Moore said he spoke with two deportees from the U.S., both of whom were originally from El Salvador and had been deported from Virginia and California. He said that one who had been in the U.S. for 20 years was a high-ranking member of the brutal gang MS-13. According to Moore, both deportees “were not afraid to admit” that they had killed people.

He said he spoke with ordinary people on the streets of El Salvador’s capital city, San Salvador, who told him that “they were living in a terror state, being terrorized by these gangs and controlling their lives and taking their lives many times.”

Now, he said, “they have their lives back.”

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That is why Moore’s resolve to support the Trump administration’s crackdown on gang terrorism is stronger than ever.

“It is very tragic that all of these young people have just thrown their lives away because they decided to basically not only destroy themselves, to destroy their own country and community and people’s lives… It’s hard to really wrap your mind around,” he said. “[But] the fundamental building block of any nation state is security. If you don’t have security, you can’t have economic opportunities, civil society, justice, any of those things. The bedrock of it is security. That has to be provided.”

President Donald Trump said the late President Jimmy Carter could die peacefully knowing he wasn’t the worst U.S. president because that title belongs to former President Joe Biden. 

Trump issued the remarks to reporters during a press conference with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who visited the White House on behalf of European nations to assist in brokering a trade deal between the U.S. and the European Union.

“Worst administration in the history of our country,” Trump said on Thursday. “Worse than Jimmy Carter. Jimmy Carter died a happy man. You know why? Because he wasn‘t the worst. President Joe Biden was.”

CRITICS PILE ON BIDEN FOLLOWING ABC INTERVIEW, BLAST HIS REFUSAL TO COMMIT TO COGNITIVE TEST: ‘DISQUALIFYING’

President Donald Trump meets with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in the Oval Office on April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Trump has routinely railed against Biden and the former president’s mental fitness, and the remarks coincide with multiple books detailing Biden’s cognitive function while in office. One White House aide said that staff isolated Biden and allowed his faculties to “atrophy” in the book, “Uncharted: How Trump Beat Biden, Harris, and the Odds in the Wildest Campaign in History.” It was released on April 8. 

A spokesperson for Biden did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. 

Trump’s comments come days after Biden slammed the Trump administration for creating so much “damage” during the early days of the administration. 

EX-BIDEN AIDE SAYS FORMER PRESIDENT WAS ‘FATIGUED, BEFUDDLED, AND DISENGAGED’ PRIOR TO JUNE DEBATE: BOOK

Former President Joe Biden gives a speech at the Advocates, Counselors, and Representatives for the Disabled conference in Chicago on April 15, 2025.

“Fewer than 100 days, this administration has done so much damage and so much destruction. It’s kind of breathtaking it could happen that soon,” Biden said in his first public speech post-presidency on Tuesday. Biden delivered the speech during a disability advocacy conference in Chicago.

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On Thursday, Trump and Meloni said they were confident the U.S. and Europe could hash out a trade deal. Trump unveiled 20% tariffs on European Union goods coming into the U.S. on April 2, but he announced on April 9 the tariffs would remain at 10% for 90 days to allow the U.S. and the EU to strike a deal.

“There will be a trade deal, 100%,” Trump told reporters. “Of course there will be a trade deal, they want to make one very much, and we’re going to make a trade deal. I fully expect it, but it’ll be a fair deal.”

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…

–Supreme Court sets May date to hear oral arguments in birthright citizenship case

-Conservatives sound alarm over Trump admin’s REAL ID rollout

–Veteran suicide crisis targeted in VA bill by bipartisan House coalition

Bashing the boomers

A move by a top Democratic Party official to spend millions of dollars through his outside political group to primary-challenge some older Democrats in blue districts is further igniting intra-party tensions that have rocked the party since President Donald Trump’s convincing election last November.

The reverberations started instantly after Leaders We Deserve, a political organization led by recently elected Democratic National Committee (DNC) vice chair David Hogg, announced on Wednesday that it will spend $20 million to help elect younger Democrats. The effort includes supporting primary challengers to House Democrats in safe seats that Hogg argues “are asleep at the wheel.”

The move by the 25-year-old Hogg, a survivor of the horrific shooting seven years ago at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in south Florida, to spend money against fellow Democrats is seen as an unprecedented action by a DNC official…Read more

Parkland school shooting survivor David Hogg speaks to Michigan State University students as they gather to protest gun violence a week after a mass shooting at the State Capitol in Lansing, Michigan, U.S., February 20, 2023. REUTERS/Emily Elconin (REUTERS/Emily Elconin)

White House

DECLASSIFIED: Gabbard declassifies Biden domestic counterterrorism plan

CUTTING AMERICORPS: Trump admin guts AmeriCorps, Clinton-era volunteer agency that failed 8 consecutive audits

OUT OF ORDER: Trump admin seeks emergency relief of Boasberg contempt threat

‘RUMORS ARE TRUE’: CAIR panelist accuses Trump admin of using AI and antisemitism against free speech

World Stage

LOCKED DOWN: Trump says ‘100 percent’ chance US will strike trade deal with Europe as Italy PM visits Washington

‘ARM UKRAINE TO THE MAX’: Republican uses George Washington, American Revolution to reject notion Ukraine should surrender to Russia

BIGGEST US THREAT EVER?: CIA director says China is #1 priority, poses biggest challenge from adversary in US history

Chinese President Xi Jinping listens as Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, not pictured, speaks during their meeting at the Office of the Party Central Committee in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Monday, April 14.  (AP/Minh Hoang)

Capitol Hill

DEPORTATION DOMINOES: More Dems work to join Sen. Van Hollen in El Salvador to push for alleged gang member’s return to US

RACE TO WATCH: Fierce Israel critic launches Senate bid in Michigan high-stakes 2026 midterm race

‘CHAMPAGNE SOCIALISTS’: ‘Champagne socialists’ Sanders and AOC flying private on ‘Fighting Oligarchy’ tour

A photo captured by a source on the ground and shared exclusively with Fox News Digital, confirmed Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., boarded the luxury Bombardier Challenger private jet at the Meadows Field Airport in Bakersfield, Calif., on Tuesday afternoon between stops on his “Fighting Oligarchy” event with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. (Getty/Fox News Digital)

TROLLING TRUMP: Pence urges Republicans to hold the line on tax hikes for the rich as Trump weighs options

WHAT IS A WOMAN?: LGBTQ Christians invoke ‘righteous rage’ at Capitol during Holy Week

Across America

‘UNDERREPORTED’: Texas measles cases are underreported, response hurt by funding cuts, CDC scientist says

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

Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., who flew to El Salvador this week to meet with deported illegal alien Kilmar Abrego Garcia before being denied multiple times, was granted his request on Thursday night.

“I said my main goal of this trip was to meet with Kilmar,” Van Hollen said in a post on X. “Tonight I had that chance. I have called his wife, Jennifer, to pass along his message of love. I look forward to providing a full update upon my return.”

Garcia, a 29-year-old illegal immigrant living in Maryland, was deported to the El Salvadoran megaprison “Terrorism Confinement Center” (CECOT) last month, and officials acknowledged in court his deportation was an administrative error, although now some top Trump officials say he was correctly removed and contend he’s a member of the notorious MS-13 gang. Both a federal court and the Supreme Court have ordered the Trump administration to “facilitate” his release and return to the U.S. for proper deportation proceedings.

Van Hollen announced on Tuesday he was going to El Salvador to visit Garcia on Wednesday, and other Democratic lawmakers announced they planned to visit him as well.

LIBERAL SENATOR SAYS HE IS FLYING TO VISIT DEPORTED MIGRANT IN PRISON, OTHER DEMS PLANNING TRIPS

Kilmar Abrego Garcia meets with Sen. Van Hollen (X / @ChrisVanHollen)

But when Van Hollen arrived, El Salvador President Nayib Bukele was out of the country, and the senator from Maryland met with Vice President Félix Augusto Antonio Ulloa Garay instead.

“I asked the vice president if I could meet with Mr. Abrego Garcia, and he said, ‘well, you need to make earlier provisions to go visit CECOT,’” Van Hollen said.

He told Ulloa that he was not interested in taking a tour of CECOT and that he just wanted to meet with Abrego Garcia.

BLUE STATE SENATOR FLIES TO EL SALVADOR TO VISIT DEPORTED MIGRANT IN PRISON, ONLY TO BE DENIED

Kilmar Abrego Garcia meets with Sen. Van Hollen (X / @nayibbukele)

“He said he was not able to make that happen,” Van Hollen said of Ulloa.

The senator was also told he could not be promised a visit if he came back next week, nor could he arrange for Abrego Garcia to speak with his family over the phone.

On Thursday, Van Hollen continued to push for entry into CECOT, but he was denied.

“We were there for one simple reason: to check on his well-being, which his family and lawyers have not been allowed to do,” Van Hollen said on X. “We won’t stop fighting.”

APPEALS COURT DENIES DOJ BID TO BLOCK RETURN OF KILMAR ABREGO GARCIA FROM EL SALVADOR PRISON

His goal of meeting with Abrego Garcia was later granted, and images of the two men show them sitting at a table in the tropics with water and coffee. Other photos shared by Bukele showed water glasses with seasoned rims and cherry garnishes, and Sen. Van Hollen shaking hands with Abrego Garcia.

“Kilmar Abrego Garcia, miraculously risen from the ‘death camps’ & ‘torture,’ now sipping margaritas with Sen. Van Hollen in the tropical paradise of El Salvador!” Bukele exclaimed in a post on X.

In another post, Bukele wrote, “Now that he’s been confirmed healthy, he gets the honor of staying in El Salvador’s custody.”

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

Kilmar Abrego Garcia meets with Sen. Van Hollen (X / @nayibbukele)

A federal appeals court earlier in the day denied the Trump administration’s emergency request to block a judge’s order requiring the U.S. government to return Abrego Garcia to the U.S.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to lift a judge’s order to “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s return from CECOT, but the court on Thursday rejected the request.

The three-judge panel included Judge Harvie Wilkinson, appointed by President Ronald Reagan, along with Judges Robert King and Stephanie Thacker, appointed by Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, respectively. 

KRISTI NOEM CRITICIZES ‘LIBERAL LEFT’ FOR TURNING ACCUSED GANG MEMBER INTO ‘MEDIA DARLING’

Kilmar Abrego Garcia meets with Sen. Van Hollen (X / @nayibbukele)

In the court’s opinion, Wilkinson repeatedly referred to Abrego Garcia as a “resident,” even though Abrego Garcia is not a lawful U.S. resident.

The court said the DOJ’s request was “extraordinary and premature” and that it would not interfere with the district judge’s efforts to carry out the Supreme Court’s decision.

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Attorney General Pam Bondi said that Abrego Garcia would not be allowed back into the U.S. unless El Salvador were to decide otherwise. “He is not coming back to our country.”

The Trump administration released information on Wednesday indicating that Abrego Garcia’s wife has accused him of repeated abuse of her. 

Fox News obtained the written domestic violence allegations filed in court against 29-year-old Kilmar Abrego Garcia by his wife, Jennifer Vasquez, in 2021.

In the filing, written in Vasquez’s own handwriting, she alleges Abrego Garcia repeatedly beat her, writing: “At this point, I am afraid to be close to him. I have multiple photos/videos of how violent he can be and all the bruises he [has] left me.”

The Department of Homeland Security also released documents that it says prove Abrego Garcia is a member of the notorious MS-13 gang, which the Trump administration has declared a foreign terrorist organization. 

Fox News Digital’s Jasmine Baehr and Bill Mears contributed to this report.

Embattled New York Attorney General Letitia James is hitting up supporters for big bucks just days after the Trump administration accused her of alleged fraud involving several homes she owns.

The money bid is in the form of an invitation to an event on Tuesday from 5:30 to 7 p.m. calling for contributions starting at $500 and climbing to an eye-popping $18,000, the maximum allowed by New York law, in support of her 2026 re-election bid.

The invite features a photo of James framed by a circular gay pride flag.

EXPERT SAYS NEW YORK AG’S LONG-RUNNING VENDETTA AGAINST TRUMP IS BLOWING UP IN HER FACE

The high-dollar fundraiser will be hosted at the home of left-wing activists Rod Grozier and Rob Smith, the latter of whom is the CEO and founder of The Phluid Project, a gender-neutral clothing company.

“Letitia James is fighting for our rights every single day. This is our opportunity to show Letitia that we have her back,” the event page on lefty fundraising website ActBlue reads.

New York State Attorney General Letitia James makes an announcement at the Office of the New York Attorney General about a major Medicaid fraud investigation committed by transportation companies. Office of AG secured more than $10 million from those companies and won convictions of 11 individuals. (Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)

The New York AG this week became the subject of a federal criminal referral over allegations she falsely claimed in official public documents in August 2023 that her “principal residence” was a home in Norfolk, Va.

James, who also has a home in Brooklyn, bought the Virginia property with her niece that year, when she was already in office as attorney general of New York.

SUPREME COURT POISED TO MAKE MAJOR DECISION THAT COULD LIMIT POWER OF DISTRICT JUDGES

New York requires its AGs to live in the state for at least five years before being elected and also while in office.

A document involving power of attorney for the Virginia purchase and viewed by The Post was signed by James in August of that year complete with the declaration, “I intend to occupy this property as my principal residence.”

New York Attorney General Letitia James speaks during a press conference, Sept. 21, 2022, in New York.   (AP Photo/Brittainy Newman, File)

The Post spoke to several of James’ alleged Virginia neighbors Wednesday, none of whom reported ever seeing her at the property.

Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director William Pulte detailed these and other allegations of James playing fast and loose with residency requirements in a letter to US Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.

NEW YORK CITY MAYOR ADAMS EXPLAINS TO LARA TRUMP WHY HE’LL WORK WITH THE PRESIDENT

The criminal referral also accused James, whose salary is $220,000, of misrepresenting the number of apartments for a building she owns in Brooklyn — saying it has four units, when city Department of Buildings records say it has five. That’s a key distinction because buildings with four or fewer units qualify for mortgages with better terms.

New York State Attorney General Letitia James speaks during a press conference. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Pulte said these issues could amount to criminal charges, including wire fraud, mail fraud, bank fraud and false statements to a financial institution.

In a previous statement, James’ office has lashed out at the Trump administration for “weaponization of the federal government” and provided some details about her ownership of the properties.

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But her spokesman did not specifically deny the allegations against her.

Her camp did not immediately respond to a Post request for comment on the fundraiser.

The Trump administration’s criminal referral targeting New York Attorney General Letitia James for reported mortgage fraud likely never would have unfolded if not for the Democrat’s years of targeting the president in court, a New York City real estate attorney and expert told Fox News Digital. 

“To be perfectly frank, this is a retaliatory case brought by the president for what the attorney general did to him over the last several years,” New York City attorney Pierre Debbas, partner and founding member of real estate law firm Romer Debbas, told Fox News Digital in a Zoom interview Thursday morning. “Both cases, quite honestly, are very weak cases.

“The attorney general’s case that was brought against Donald Trump was honestly a pure manipulation of the legal system, and it was laughable,” he continued, referring to the civil fraud case she brought against Trump. “Something that’s never taken place in the history of New York that was isolated at one particular person for a politically driven purpose.

“Now, on the flip side, this serves the same purpose, right? This is the president’s way of seeking retaliation against the attorney general for something that, in reality, is, while it’s considered mortgage fraud, it’s not criminal,” he continued. “And it’s not something that would have been brought upon had the attorney general not pursued a similar case with low merit against the president a few years back.” 

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION REFERS NY AG LETITIA JAMES FOR POSSIBLE PROSECUTION OVER ALLEGATIONS OF MORTGAGE FRAUD

New York Attorney General Letitia James speaks during a news conference Sept. 21, 2022, in New York.   (Brittainy Newman, File/The Associated Press )

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), an independent federal agency that oversees Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Bank System, sent a criminal referral to the Department of Justice Monday arguing the attorney general appeared to have falsified mortgage records to obtain more favorable loans. 

At the heart of the case is a Norfolk, Virginia, home James purchased in 2023, which she identified on mortgage documents and a Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac form as a property that would serve as her primary residence, according to the FHFA letter dated Monday. James is legally required to live in New York as a statewide elected official in the Empire State, the letter adds. 

Identifying a home as a primary residence versus a secondary home or vacation home comes with financial incentives, Debbas explained, because banks will offer lower interest rates to primary residences, with homeowners less likely to default on such loans compared to a second home. 

“As a real estate attorney, we represent every major lending institution in the country,” he said. “And a common underwriting requirement for banks is to solidify what the use of the property is going to be, meaning, is it a primary residence, second home or investment property.

“And the reason banks do that is that clearly there’s a higher rate of default when it comes to investment properties and second homes as opposed to primary residences.”

The Trump administration’s criminal referral targeting New York Attorney General Letitia James for reported mortgage fraud likely never would have unfolded if not for the Democrat’s years of targeting the president in court, a New York City real estate attorney and expert told Fox News Digital.  (Seth Wenig, Pool/The Associated Press)

“The reason being is people, you know, don’t want to leave their homes,” he said. “Now, a second home investment property, you may be a little more inclined to throw the keys to the bank.” 

COURT NAMES NEW JUDGE IN TRUMP CIVIL FRAUD CASE BEFORE REASSIGNING PREVIOUS JUDGE HOURS LATER

The bank then requires the borrower to sign an affidavit confirming that the home being acquired will be used as a primary residence, he explained. 

“Now, if that is not the intent or that is in fact inaccurate, and you sign that agreement, you are in fact committing mortgage fraud,” he said. “And the bank relies on that agreement in giving you the loan. Now, would they have given you a loan if it were a second home? Potentially, but the difference is the interest rate would be significantly higher.” 

The bank’s recourse when discovering such mortgage fraud related to misidentifying a property as a primary residence to obtain more favorable loan terms is “simply to call the loan,” he said. 

State Attorney General Letitia James is a longtime political foe of President Donald Trump who campaigned for the attorney general job in 2018 by vowing to aggressively pursue legal charges against Trump if elected.  (Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)

“They would call the loan, force you to pay it off by a certain date,” he said. “If you’re unable to sell the property or take other liquidity that you have to pay off the loan, they have the right to pursue a foreclosure action. They’d be legally granted this right. It would be very difficult to contest under those circumstances because, technically speaking, this is a default and this is fraud.” 

The New York City real estate attorney added that this type of fraud is common. 

LONGTIME TRUMP FOE LETITIA JAMES REVIEWING POSSIBLE INSIDER TRADING OVER PRESIDENT’S TARIFF PAUSE

“What extent is it fraud? To be quite honest with you, this is a very common thing that does take place in the real estate market,” he said. “I’m not saying it’s right. I’m not saying Letitia James … the full extent of the law shouldn’t be applied to her. But it is something that takes place. Because if the loan is current, the bank hasn’t really suffered any detriment, but it’s still mortgage fraud. So that doesn’t take away the fraud component to this.” 

Debbas argued this type of fraud does not rise to the level of criminal activity because the bank can call the loan, take back the property or force it to be liquidated.

“The attorney general’s case that was brought against Donald Trump was honestly a pure manipulation of the legal system, and it was laughable,” New York City attorney Pierre Debbas said, referring to the civil fraud case she brought against Trump. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

James’ office told The New York Times that a separate loan application for the 2023 Norfolk, Virginia, home purchase reportedly indicated she would not live at the property full time, and that her mortgage agreement did not require her to occupy the property as her primary residence. 

James is a longtime political foe of Trump’s who campaigned for the attorney general job in 2018 by vowing to aggressively pursue legal charges against Trump if elected, adding she’d expose the “con man” after her win that year. 

Her office leveled nearly 100 legal challenges against the first Trump administration and added after his second presidential win in 2024 that she would continue challenging him in the courts to “defend the rights of New Yorkers and the rule of law.”

NY AG LETITIA JAMES SKEWERED FOR ‘DISTASTEFUL’ REMARKS AFTER TRUMP VICTORY: ‘UTTER ARROGANCE’

Most notably, James pursued a civil fraud case against Trump and the Trump Organization for inflating the values of properties to obtain more favorable loans, insurance coverage and tax deductions, which resulted in a $454 million judgment in 2024. 

A spokesperson for James’ office told Fox Digital Thursday that “multiple times during the attorney general’s trial against President Trump and the Trump Organization for years of financial fraud, President Trump’s attorneys repeatedly made the argument that the attorney general’s lawsuit was politically motivated.

“Every single time, the judge rejected that argument and even sanctioned the attorneys for making it,” the spokesperson added. “Attorney General James won her lawsuit, and the judgment against President Trump now exceeds half a billion dollars.” 

Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley noted the irony of Trump’s criminal referral over allegations of James fudging numbers to obtain more favorable loans after pursing Trump for something similar. 

“This is a person who prosecuted Trump for everything short of ripping a label off a mattress, and among the charges that were brought in New York, in not just the civil but the criminal case, was making false or misleading statements to financial institutions,” the legal scholar said on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle” Tuesday. “As for James, if we apply the Letitia James standard that she created, there’d be little question here. This seems pretty straightforward.”

The administration is looking into the allegations put forth by the FHFA while underscoring that “no one is above the law,” White House spokesman Harrison Fields said on Newsmax Wednesday. 

“With the Democratic Party, they love to throw stones in glass homes when they realize that they’re committing the crimes that they’re actually trying to go against,” Fields said. 

“So, this is now a criminal referral that the Department of Justice under Attorney General Pam Bondi will have to look at,” he added. “The allegations from the FHFA are very serious. We’re going to look at them, and no one is above the law. And Tish James, she’d like to say that about the president, but she should look in the mirror and realize that if you have skeletons in your closets about abusing the law and doing illegal things, maybe you shouldn’t be purveying around like some justice queen, because you’re not.” 

NY AG LETITIA JAMES RESPONDS TO ALLEGATIONS OF MORTGAGE FRAUD

The criminal referral also cited past reported issues with James’ properties, including a 2001 purchase of a Brooklyn property. The certificate of occupancy lists the property as a five-unit residence, while James’ mortgages list the property as four units. 

Debbas explained that five-unit properties are identified as commercial properties, which would require a commercial loan that has higher interest rates than a residential loan. However, the banks carry the burden of confirming whether a building is commercial or residential. 

“If the borrower has the ability to tell the bank or convince the bank that it’s actually four units, it’s to their financial benefit,” he said. “Now, when you look at a certificate of occupancy, certificate of the occupancy is issued by the Department of Buildings, which tells you the legal use of the building.

Letitia James’ office leveled nearly 100 legal challenges against the first Trump administration and said after his second presidential win in 2024 she would continue challenging him in the courts to “defend the rights of New Yorkers and the rule of law.” (Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)

“This is a five-family dwelling,” he said. “Now, this is unequivocally a commercial property. The burden was on the bank to confirm this, but if the borrower did, in fact, have concrete knowledge … an argument can be made that mortgage fraud did take place in the application of this law.” 

James’ office told The New York Times a rider attached to the Brooklyn mortgage stated the building was four units, not five. 

Debbas added that before the 2008 market crash, there was a lot of “shadiness” in the world of mortgages. 

“As an elected official … there should be a heightened standard for honesty and obliging by your legal requirements not falsifying documents or committing fraud,” Debbas said. 

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While reflecting specifically on the Virginia home alleged mortgage fraud, he added, “Now, how would this impact her seating as attorney general of the state of New York? At the end of the day, that’s going to be determined largely based on how many enemies she’s created. But from a purely mortgage standpoint, it is certainly mortgage fraud, but, in my opinion, it does not warrant any criminal activity.”

A spokesperson for James’ office said Wednesday morning she has been “focused every single day on protecting New Yorkers, especially as this administration weaponizes the federal government against the rule of law and the Constitution. She will not be intimidated by bullies — no matter who they are,” Fox Digital previously reported. 

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) pointed out that only half of its D.C. headquarters is being used after the agency’s building was added to a list of federal properties marked for sale by the Trump administration Thursday.

HUD’s headquarters became the first major federal agency building to be added to the General Services Administration’s list of “assets identified for accelerated disposition” amid GOP efforts to slim down the government’s real estate portfolio and potentially relocate agency headquarters outside the nation’s capital. 

Simultaneously, Democrats have taken steps to block these efforts, including through the introduction of legislation in Congress. 

Last month, the GSA retracted a list of 440 “non-core” assets, including the HUD headquarters and more than a dozen other federal buildings it had initially listed for sale or disposal, according to the Federal News Network. The GSA subsequently posted a new list, but HUD is the first major executive agency headquarters to be included. 

DEM ACCUSES TRUMP ADMIN OF ‘FIRE SALE APPROACH’ AS GOP AIMS TO LOWER FEDERAL GOV’S REAL ESTATE PORTFOLIO

The Robert C. Weaver Federal Building in Washington, D.C.  (Carol M. Highsmith/Buyenlarge/Getty Images)

President Donald Trump campaigned on relocating federal agencies outside the nation’s capital in 2024 as part of his wider efforts to clean up waste, slim down the federal government and “dismantle the deep state.” 

Earlier this week, Trump signed an executive order rescinding two prior executive actions put into effect under the Carter and Clinton administrations, which the president said in his directive “prevented agencies from relocating to lower-cost facilities.” Trump’s directive also points out that by moving federal agencies closer to the people they are serving, rather than being centrally located in the nation’s capital, it will help the departments more successfully carry out their missions. 

“HUD’s focus is on creating a workplace that reflects the values of efficiency, accountability and purpose,” HUD Secretary Scott Turner said Thursday. “We’re committed to rightsizing government operations and ensuring our facilities support a culture of optimal performance and exceptional service as we collaborate with our partners at GSA to deliver results for the American people.”

HUD indicated Thursday the timeline and final location for the headquarters relocation is still being considered.  (Getty Images; Fox News)

SEN. DICK DURBIN: CLOSING FEDERAL OFFICES PUNISHES EVERYDAY AMERICANS

HUD indicated Thursday the timeline and final location for the headquarters relocation were still being considered. But the agency did note that the Washington, D.C., metro area remains one of the top options under consideration.  

The HUD headquarters is located inside the Robert C. Weaver Federal Building, which is in the Southwest part of D.C. According to HUD, the building is facing $500 million in “deferred maintenance and modernization needs,” which the agency said costs taxpayers more than $56 million annually in rent and operations expenditures.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development headquarters in Washington, D.C., March 3, 2025. (Getty Images; Fox News)

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Media reports earlier this month indicated the Department of Agriculture has been putting together plans to relocate its federal headquarters outside D.C., according to several officials briefed on the plans.

The Supreme Court has agreed to examine the Trump administration’s challenge to judges issuing nationwide injunctions, setting a date for a case that could have a major impact on the president’s ability to carry out his agenda as well as on the entire country.  

This comes after three federal judges issued separate nationwide injunctions blocking an executive order by President Donald Trump ending birthright citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants. 

On Thursday, the court consolidated the three cases into one and set oral arguments to examine the fundamental question of whether district judges can issue rulings that affect the entire country. 

The court will hear oral arguments for the case at 10 a.m. on May 15, which is about two weeks after the court normally stops hearing oral arguments ahead of its recess, which begins in July.

SUPREME COURT TO HEAR ORAL ARGUMENTS IN BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP CASE

The Supreme Court has agreed to examine the Trump administration’s challenge to judges issuing nationwide injunctions, setting a date for a case that could have a major impact on the president’s ability to carry out his agenda as well as on the entire country.   (Donald Trump: Photo by Peter Zay/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images | Supreme Court: Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Nationwide injunctions are court orders that prevent the federal government from implementing a policy or law that has a cascading effect impacting the entire country, not just the parties involved in the court case. 

Since Trump’s return to the Oval Office in January, his administration has faced hundreds of lawsuits targeting his executive orders and actions, some of which have resulted in nationwide injunctions, stalling key portions of his agenda, including immigration enforcement. 

NEARLY 2 DOZEN STATES SUE TRUMP ADMIN OVER BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP ORDER: ‘UNPRECEDENTED’

FILE – The Supreme Court of the United States is seen in Washington, March 26, 2024.   (AP Photo/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades, File)

In March the Trump administration filed an emergency appeal asking the Supreme Court to narrow three injunctions that were issued to halt Trump’s nullification of birthright citizenship. The emergency appeal requested the injunction only cover individuals directly impacted by the relevant courts. 

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The administration’s acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris argued in the emergency appeal that nationwide injunctions have hit “epidemic proportions” under the second Trump administration, noting that the federal government faced 14 universal injunctions in the first three years of the Biden administration compared to 15 leveled against the Trump admin in one month alone. 

Beyond impacting the question of birthright citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants, the court’s ultimate decision will likely have the even larger impact of finally answering the limits of federal judges’ power to decide questions of national and international policy. 

Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton and Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report. 

The Trump administration announced sanctions against the International Bank of Yemen Y.S.C. (IBY) on Thursday for its financial support of Houthi terrorists.

Along with the bank, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is sanctioning key leaders of IBY, like its Chairman of the Board of Directors Kamal Hussain Al Jebry; Executive General Manager Ahmed Thabit Noman Al-Absi and Deputy General Manager Abdulkader Ali Bazara. By sanctioning IBY, the U.S. hopes to stop Houthi attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea.

“Financial institutions like IBY are critical to the Houthis’ efforts to access the international financial system and threaten both the region and international commerce,” Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Michael Faulkender said. “Treasury remains committed to working with the internationally recognized government of Yemen to disrupt the Houthis’ ability to secure funds and procure key components for their destabilizing attacks.”

Based in Sana’a, Yemen, the IBY is controlled by the Iran-backed Houthis and provides the group with access to the bank’s Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications (SWIFT) network to make international financial transactions, the Treasury said.

TRUMP TAKES SWIPE AT BIDEN, SAYS US WILL SUPPORT SOMALIA AGAINST HOUTHIS

Houthi followers burn the Israeli and American flags during a tribal gathering on January 14, 2024 on the outskirts of Sana’a, Yemen. Houthi followers gathered to protest against the U.S.-U.K. airstrikes on positions in areas under their control.  (Mohammed Hamoud/Getty Images)

The IBY, for instance, has allegedly aided Houthi businesses and officials to pursue oil on the SWIFT network, while also facilitating attempts by the terrorist group to evade sanctions oversight.

Under Thursday’s sanctions, all property and interests in property of the leaders named, that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. Additionally, any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, individually or in the aggregate, 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked.

TRUMP TOUTS AIRSTRIKE ON HOUTHIS, SHOWING VIDEO: WILL ‘NEVER SINK OUR SHIPS AGAIN’

State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce sent a warning to those who support foreign terrorist organizations like the Houthis. (State Department)

OFAC’s regulations generally prohibit all transactions by U.S. persons or within, or transiting, the United States that involve any property or interests in property of designated or otherwise blocked persons. 

U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce spoke about the sanctions during a press briefing Thursday, sending a message to anyone who supports foreign terrorist organizations like the Houthis.

US FORCES CARRY OUT AIRSTRIKE IN SOUTHERN SOMALIA, KILLING 3 AL-SHABAAB TERRORISTS

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei attends a meeting with a group of students in Tehran, Iran, on Wednesday, Nov. 1.  (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)

“The United States is committed to disrupting the Houthi financial networks and banking access as part of our whole-of-government approach to eliminating Iran’s threat network,” she said. “Moreover, we can confirm the reporting that Chang Guang Satellite Technology Company Limited (CGSTL) is directly supporting Iran-backed Houthi terrorist attacks on U.S. Interests. Their actions and Beijing’s support of the company, even after our private engagements with them, is yet another example of China’s empty claims to support peace.

She continued, urging partners of the U.S. to judge the Chinese Communist Party and Chinese companies on their actions, and not just their words.

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“Restoring freedom of navigation in the Red Sea is a priority to President Trump,” Bruce said. “Beijing should take this priority seriously when considering any future support of CGSTL. The United States will not tolerate anyone providing support to foreign terrorist organizations such as the Houthis.”