NationalWatch

Vice President JD Vance told House Republicans that putting a government funding bill up for a vote today was critical to President Donald Trump keeping the lights on for his border security goals and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Two lawmakers present at the closed-door meeting on Tuesday morning said DOGE and the border were part of Vance’s pitch to Republicans who were still undecided about the bill.

One lawmaker said Vance also signaled that future federal spending cuts could be on the table at a later date, a similar pitch House Freedom Caucus leaders have been making to fellow fiscal conservatives.

“Vance basically said this is what we need to keep DOGE and border operations going,” the lawmaker said. “And we will have much more flexibility for DOGE cuts once we’ve had more time to identify and quantify them.”

TOP CONSERVATIVE GROUP VOWS TO WORK CLOSELY WITH PRESIDENT AFTER PAST CLASHES WITH TRUMP

Speaker Mike Johnson, left, welcomed Vice President JD Vance to House Republicans’ conference meeting Tuesday. (Getty/AP)

The House and Senate must pass a federal funding bill and send it to Trump’s desk by the end of Friday to avert a partial government shutdown.

Trump has endorsed a House Republican-led measure, a rough extension of fiscal year (FY) 2024 funding levels called a continuing resolution (CR), that will keep government spending largely flat for FY 2025, until the beginning of FY 2026 on Oct. 1 – something House GOP leaders claim as a victory.

“Pass the bill,” said Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, who declined to elaborate further on the meeting.

House Republicans are largely expected to shoulder the burden of passing the bill themselves, despite Democrats historically voting in droves to avoid government shutdowns. 

However, House Democratic leaders have accused Republicans of trying to use the legislation to allow Elon Musk and Trump to continue upending the federal bureaucracy – a point that is not dissimilar to what conservatives support about the bill.

Vice President JD Vance also suggested Elon Musk’s DOGE efforts could be upended by a shutdown. (AP/Alex Brandon)

A senior source involved in negotiations on the CR told Fox News Digital they were optimistic about where it was going.

“There were people who would say ‘I don’t like CRs, but I trust the administration, so I think I can move forward on this one,'” the source said of the House Republicans’ conference meeting.

Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., a fiscal hawk who is generally opposed to CRs, said as much in a brief back-and-forth with Fox News on Tuesday morning, after announcing he would “barely” support the bill.

“The ‘barely’ is Donald Trump,” Burlison said. “He is the difference maker. I would never support this language, but I do trust Donald Trump.”

RON AND CASEY DESANTIS TEE OFF WITH TRUMP AS FLORIDA GOVERNOR’S RACE HEATS UP

President Donald Trump supports the bill. (Evan Vucci/AP)

The vote is expected to take place late Tuesday afternoon.

Trump and his allies spent Monday calling potential holdouts and are expected to do so again on Tuesday.

At least one Republican, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., is staunchly opposed to the bill.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

In a sign of confidence, House GOP leaders announced they would send lawmakers back to their districts early, canceling a planned day of votes on Wednesday.

Fox News Digital reached out to Vance’s office for comment but did not hear back.

EXCLUSIVE – A leading conservative organization that has long been a major player in GOP primary battles is putting its weight behind the candidate endorsed by President Donald Trump in the race to succeed term-limited Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida.

The Club for Growth PAC, a political arm of the Club for Growth public advocacy organization, on Tuesday endorsed Rep. Byron Donalds in Florida’s 2026 gubernatorial race. The development was shared first with Fox News.

Donalds, a conservative former state lawmaker who has represented Florida’s 19th Congressional District in the southwest part of the state, is currently the only major Republican to launch a campaign. 

The staunch Trump supporter and House ally announced his candidacy during an appearance on Fox News’ “Hannity” late last month, days after landing the president’s endorsement.

TOP CONSERVATIVE GROUP VOWS TO WORK CLOSELY WITH PRESIDENT AFTER PAST CLASHES WITH TRUMP

Rep. Byron Donalds during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland, on Feb. 21, 2025. (Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Donalds was backed by the Club when he first won the congressional seat in 2020. The Club notes that it spent $2.5 million to help Donalds narrowly emerge from a nine-way Republican primary contest en route to his general election victory.

And Donalds enjoys a 100% lifetime rating by the group, which tracks how members of Congress vote on economic issues. The Club promotes a fiscally conservative agenda, including a focus on tax cuts and other economic issues. 

“Rep. Byron Donalds is a proven constitutional conservative who has consistently demonstrated his commitment to pro-growth economic policies, school freedom, and limited government principles,” Club for Growth PAC President David McIntosh told Fox News Digital in a statement. “Club for Growth PAC is proud to have supported Rep. Donalds since his first election to Congress in 2020, and we look forward to electing him as Florida’s next Governor.”

The Club for Growth PAC is affiliated with Club for Growth Action, which describes itself as “America’s largest independent conservative Super PAC.” The Club notes that in the 2024 cycle, candidates endorsed by the PAC won 73% of their races. 

Florida’s first lady, Casey DeSantis, is considering a 2026 gubernatorial run in the race to succeed her husband. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

The endorsement of Donalds comes as Florida first lady Casey DeSantis has acknowledged she is considering a 2026 gubernatorial run to succeed her husband in Tallahassee.

Trump and Florida’s first couple had breakfast together a week and a half ago at the president’s West Palm Beach golf course, and also played a round of golf. The governor shared a photo of his wife and Trump from the golf outing on social media.

RON AND CASEY DESANTIS TEE OFF WITH TRUMP AS FLORIDA GOVERNOR’S RACE HEATS UP

A Republican source in Florida confirmed to Fox News that the governor and first lady used their face-to-face time with Trump, in part, to appeal to the president to not further engage in the gubernatorial race beyond his initial endorsement of Donalds.

The president, who moved his primary residence to Florida in 2019, took to social media last month to write that Donalds – who was a major surrogate for Trump on the 2024 campaign trail – “would be a truly Great and Powerful Governor for Florida.”

Trump added that Donalds, “should he decide to run, will have my Complete and Total Endorsement. RUN, BYRON, RUN!”

Byron Donalds speaks inside the Capital One arena on Inauguration Day in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20, 2025. (Reuters/Mike Segar)

An internal poll conducted for Donalds’ campaign indicated the congressman edging Casey DeSantis by single digits in a hypothetical GOP primary showdown. But the survey suggested that Donalds’ lead surged to more than 20 points when respondents were informed that he is supported by Trump, whose sway over the GOP is stronger than ever.

WHAT BYRON DONALDS TOLD FOX NEWS’ LARA TRUMP 

The Club’s endorsement of Donalds is their first effort this cycle to align with Trump in high-profile primaries.

Former President Donald Trump shakes hands with Club for Growth President David McIntosh, as Trump speaks at the group’s annual donor retreat, at The Breakers in Palm Beach, Florida, on March 1, 2024. (Club for Growth)

McIntosh and the Club have had an up-and-down relationship with Trump. They opposed him as he ran for the White House in 2016 before embracing him as an ally. In the 2022 cycle, Trump and the Club teamed up in some high-profile GOP primaries but clashed over combustible Senate nomination battles in Alabama, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

TRUMP, CLUB FOR GROWTH, MAKE PEACE AHEAD OF 2024 ELECTIONS

Additionally, the Club was on the outs with Trump as the 2024 Republican presidential nomination race got underway. Trump repeatedly criticized McIntosh and the Club, referring to them as “The Club for NO Growth,” and claimed they were “an assemblage of political misfits, globalists, and losers.”

However, Trump and McIntosh made peace about a year ago, with Trump saying in March 2024, as he was wrapping up the GOP presidential nomination, that they were “back in love” after the protracted falling out.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“I think you’ll see Club for Growth PACs work closely with President Trump, his political team,” McIntosh told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview last month. “We’re definitely going to be working closely with his policy team to get the tax bill through. A lot of the legislation that we both agree is really important for turning things around in the country.”

Romania’s right-wing presidential frontrunner was barred from the race under criminal charges he compares to those President Donald Trump faced.

“We are faced with a communist regime as well,” Călin Georgescu, told Fox News Digital just before a Romanian electoral bureau barred him from running in a May presidential election rerun. Prosecutors opened a criminal case against him two weeks prior. 

Chaos broke out in the streets of Romania’s capital, Bucharest, after the bureau announced its decision to bar the right-wing populist from the ballot. Georgescu was the top vote-getter in the results of the first election, which were annulled. 

ROMANIA BLOCKS FRONTRUNNER FROM POSTPONED PRESIDENTIAL RACE

Supporters of Călin Georgescu confront riot police outside Romania’s central electoral bureau, after the rejection of his candidacy for the May presidential ballot re-run, in Bucharest, March 9, 2025. (Inquam Photos/George Calin via Reuters)

The charges against him stemmed from “communication of false information,” involvement with a fascist organization and “incitement to actions against the constitutional order.” 

“They are trying to destroy democracy,” Georgescu claimed. “They could not accept to lose the power and access to the money.” 

He claimed Romanian authorities are trying to “censor all the online sites.” 

Before emerging as a conservative political figure, Georgescu’s background was in sustainable development, and he worked on environmental issues at the United Nations. 

Georgescu is now appealing the ban on his candidacy, which prompted U.S. leaders to comment on the drama. The Constitutional Court is expected to weigh in on his appeal by Wednesday. 

 “How can a judge end democracy in Romania?” Elon Musk asked in an X post on Monday. 

ROMANIAN FAR-RIGHT PRESIDENTIAL FRONTRUNNER TAKEN INTO CUSTODY AFTER JD VANCE’S REBUKE OF EUROPEAN ELECTIONS

Călin Georgescu, the independent candidate for president who won the first election round, speaks after an interview with the Associated Press in Izvorani, Romania, Dec. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

The results of the first election were thrown out over accusations that Russia had launched a TikTok campaign to benefit Georgescu. 

The turmoil earned Romania a shoutout from Vice President JD Vance in his speech at the Munich Security Conference. 

“You can believe it’s wrong for Russia to buy social media advertisements to influence your elections. We certainly do. You can condemn it on the world stage, even. But if your democracy can be destroyed with a few hundred thousand dollars of digital advertising from a foreign country, then it wasn’t very strong to begin with.”

Georgescu thanked U.S. leaders for weighing in on his behalf, though he said he has not had contact with American government officials behind the scenes. 

Georgescu denied that Russia was at play in the first election, and claimed he was not the “pro-Russian” candidate. 

“I’m pro-Romanian. I have nothing to do with Russia,” he said. Nevertheless, Russia has said any election without Georgescu would be “illegitimate.”

ROMANIA ANNULS FIRST ROUND OF PRESIDENTIAL VOTE WON BY FAR-RIGHT CANDIDATE

A police officer extinguishes a fire as supporters of far-right candidate Călin Georgescu clash with riot police outside Romania’s central electoral bureau. ( Inquam Photos/George Calin via Reuters)

“It has nothing to do with [Russia]. It’s just a copy paste of the accusations made against Donald Trump. It’s just they changed the name Trump.” 

The politician has taken heat for describing Russian President Vladimir Putin as a “man who loves his country.” But he claims that critics twist his words advocating “peaceful settlement” in the war on Ukraine because they are “allergic to the word peace.” 

Georgescu has been critical of NATO and the European Union, and enthusiastically said he would cut off all aid to Ukraine if he took high office. 

Supporters of far-right candidate Călin Georgescu talk to riot police during a protest outside the Constitutional Court of Romania, where Georgescu is appealing the ban on his candidacy. (Reuters/Andreea Campeanu)

“We shall stop totally all the contributions related with Ukraine,” he said. 

Georgescu, who was little-known until a social media campaign for his candidacy took off last year, is also charged with obscuring the origins of campaign financing. 

Asked how he raised money for his campaign, Georgescu said: “The situation was very, very easy. I made the best of what I had… we established a strategy sent by social media and I said to the people, be free to do everything you want.” 

“The people in the moment when they realize they [can be] free… we won this point, because it’s a moment when the people are free, they can do miracles.”

“They accuse me for different things, they are very strange and awkward, no evidence in any situation,” said Georgescu, adding that he believes he is under investigation because “the oligarch system was exposed.”

Last week, Romania also expelled two military attachés with the Russian embassy. Their reason for expulsion was listed vaguely as taking part in actions that ran afoul of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. 

Asked if Russian influence was an issue in his country, Georgescu said: “I don’t know anything about that. The only thing which I know, I know that we have to have very good relationships with our neighbors, extremely good relationships with the neighbors, and very good relationships with all the big countries, particularly, of course, with, with Russia, with the United States, with China.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“Of course, we cannot allow [anybody] to intervene in our country. This is all. But we have to have very good relationships with everybody.”

He declined to say whether he would pull Romania out of NATO. 

“The United States is the first partner,” he said. “So whatever I have to do, whatever I wish to do, this is the main part which I recognize. The United States as a principle flag of democracy and freedom. And this is the principle partner which I’m looking for.”

A federal judge on Monday ordered the Trump administration to pay the remainder of foreign aid owed to contractors for completed work, noting in a new court ruling that the administration likely violated the separation of powers doctrine by “unlawfully impounding” nearly $2 billion in funds appropriated by Congress.

U.S. District Court Judge Amir Ali, a Biden appointee, said in the ruling that the Trump administration likely exceeded its Constitutional authorities in attempting to block the payments owed by the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to grant recipients and foreign aid contractors.

“Here, the executive has unilaterally deemed that funds Congress appropriated for foreign aid will not be spent,” Ali said.

“The executive not only claims his constitutional authority to determine how to spend appropriated funds, but usurps Congress’s exclusive authority to dictate whether the funds should be spent in the first place.”

SCOTUS RULES ON NEARLY $2 BILLION IN FROZEN USAID PAYMENTS

A worker removes the U.S. Agency for International Development sign on their headquarters on Feb. 07, 2025 in Washington, DC.  (Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)

Ali said the limits of the case, which focuses solely on projects completed before Feb. 13, prevent him from ordering the administration to make payments on other work, or ordering the reinstatement of other contracts. 

As of last Friday, that amount owed by the government stood at around $671 million. It is unclear whether additional payments have been made, though Ali ordered the plaintiffs to file a joint status report by March 14 appraising the court of the Trump administration’s compliance with the order. 

President Donald Trump attempted to freeze USAID payments after billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) flagged foreign aid spending as highly wasteful and fraudulent. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Plaintiffs were also told to propose a schedule for next steps in this matter. “The Court is prepared to hold a prompt hearing at the request of the parties to address any feasibility concerns,” Ali said in the 48-page opinion.

Ali also dedicated a large portion of the 48-page ruling to arguments that the Trump administration likely usurped its executive authority under the Constitution in ordering a blanket freeze on nearly all foreign aid payments in a Jan. 20 executive order, and a memo just four days later that curtailed foreign aid funding and restructured existing contracts. 

LAWSUIT TRACKER: NEW RESISTANCE BATTLING TRUMP’S SECOND TERM THROUGH ONSLAUGHT OF LAWSUITS TAKING AIM AT EOS

Volunteers at the Zanzalima Camp for Internally Displaced People unload 50 kilogram saks of Wheat flour that were a part of an aid delivery from USAID on December 17, 2021 in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia.  (J. Countess/Getty Images)

Ali had previously ordered the Trump administration to pay all owed foreign aid funds for previously completed work, totaling $1.9 billion, by Feb. 26 at 11:59 p.m. 

The Supreme Court took up the case for emergency review last week, but ruled 5-4 to reject the administration’s request to extend the freeze. Instead, the court remanded the case back to the D.C. federal court, and Ali to hash out the specifics of what must be paid, and when.

But the bulk of last week’s hearing in D.C. federal court, which stretched on for more than four hours, focused largely on the government’s role and review of all foreign aid contractors and grants, which Trump administration lawyers told Ali they had already completed and made final decisions for.

Lawyers were also pressed over whether the Trump administration can legally move to terminate projects whose funds are allocated and appropriated by Congress – something Ali referenced specifically in his ruling.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP 

“The provision and administration of foreign aid has been a joint enterprise between our two political branches,” he said. “That partnership is built not out of convenience, but of constitutional necessity.”

These arguments – and the ruling from Ali – could eventually kick the issue back up to the Supreme Court, should the government move to appeal any part of the memo or the allegations. 

FIRST ON FOX: Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is putting pressure on House Democrats hours before a critical vote on a bill to avert a partial government shutdown before the end of this week.

The clip, which runs just under two minutes, is a supercut of top Democratic lawmakers emphasizing that their party does not support government shutdowns nor the office closures and mass furloughs that come with them.

“House Democrats have long warned about the consequences of a government shutdown,” the text on the screen begins.

The message is immediately followed by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., stating during a press conference, “We believe in governance. We want to keep government open. A shutdown is very serious.”

MASSIE SAYS HE’S A ‘NO’ ON TRUMP-ENDORSED GOVERNMENT FUNDING MEASURE

House Speaker Mike Johnson is using Democrats’ own past words on shutdowns against them in a new pressure campaign. (Getty Images)

“It is not normal to hold 800,000 workers’ paychecks hostage. It is not normal to shut down the government when we don’t get what we want,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., says on the House floor in another clip.

The video ends with white text on a black screen that reads, “What’s changed? Now Democrats want to shut down the government to try to stop President Trump.”

“Democrats have railed against government shutdowns. But now they’re supporting one,” Johnson told Fox News Digital in a written statement. “They’re willing to do anything to stop President Trump from implementing his agenda.”

It’s a marked escalation in the war of words between Democrats and Republicans over a plan President Donald Trump and GOP leaders are pushing to avert a partial shutdown.

The 99-page bill released by House GOP leaders over the weekend would keep the government funded through the end of fiscal year (FY) 2025, on Sept. 30. 

The bill is backed by President Donald Trump. (Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)

It would do so by extending FY 2024 government funding levels, which Republican leaders have celebrated as a victory in that it roughly keeps federal spending levels for another year, rather than the expected increases that come with the annual full-year congressional appropriations bills.

The bill, known as a continuing resolution (CR), is expected to get a House-wide vote on Tuesday afternoon.

Democrats have strongly condemned the bill after not receiving assurances from Republicans that it would include constraints on Trump’s authority, particularly related to government spending.

“The partisan House Republican funding bill recklessly cuts healthcare, nutritional assistance, and $23 billion in veterans benefits,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said in a joint statement with other Democratic leaders. “Equally troublesome, the legislation does nothing to protect Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid, while exposing the American people to further pain throughout this fiscal year. We are voting No.”

TRUMP-BACKED PLAN TO AVERT SHUTDOWN HEADS FOR HOUSE VOTE

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

House GOP leadership aides said over the weekend that the bill included an additional $6 billion for veterans healthcare, and Republicans have pushed back on accusations that the bill touches Medicare and Medicaid – mandatory government programs that cannot significantly be cut into in the congressional appropriations process.

But passing the bill with little to no Democratic support will be an uphill battle for Republican leaders. At least half a dozen Republicans are undecided about or opposed to the bill as of Tuesday morning.

But GOP leaders were confident it would pass throughout Monday. “We’re going to plan to move it tomorrow,” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., said on Monday night.

House Democrats have launched an effort to bar President Donald Trump from unilaterally moving to “invade or seize territory” from Greenland, Canada and Panama. 

The measure, known as the No Invading Allies Act and spearheaded by Rep. Seth Magaziner, D-R.I., bars funding from going toward the armed forces to engage in operations seeking to take over Greenland, Canada and Panama. 

Magaziner said Trump’s “reckless” rhetoric about obtaining territory from the three countries makes the president untrustworthy with the war powers granted to him. 

“Americans do not support sending troops unnecessary wars, especially with allies of the United States who pose no threat to our country,” Magaziner said in a Monday statement to Fox News Digital. “Unfortunately, President Trump has recklessly refused to rule out taking the territory of other nations by force. Under the Constitution it is Congress, not the President, who has the power to declare war. It is time for Congress to reclaim that constitutional power and ensure that the President adheres to the will of the American people.” 

TRUMP SAYS US WOULD WELCOME GREENLAND DURING JOINT ADDRESS TO CONGRESS

President Donald Trump has made comments recently about acquiring territory from Panama, as well as Greenland and Canada. (Jim WATSON / AFP, left, ARNULFO FRANCO / AFP, right.)

While the U.S. Constitution dictates that Congress has the authority to approve declaring an act of war, Congress last formally declared war in 1942, and modern presidents have entered conflicts without securing explicit or formal congressional approval, according to the National Constitution Center. 

Furthermore, the War Powers Resolution of 1973 requires the executive branch to notify Congress within 48 hours of military action and bars troops from remaining engaged for more than 60 days without congressional approval. However, the legislation does not define “hostilities,” and previous administrations have asserted their actions engaging military forces did not qualify as hostilities and, therefore, congressional approval was not required, according to the Project on Government Oversight. 

Other Democratic lawmakers who have co-sponsored the measure include Reps. Eric Swallwell of California and Pramila Jayapal of Washington. The legislation has been referred to both the House Foreign Affairs and Armed Services Committees. 

Trump has discussed acquiring Greenland, Canada and Panama for months – and has regularly referred to Canada as the 51st state in the U.S. Additionally, Trump asserted in a joint address to Congress on Tuesday that the U.S. would reclaim the Panama Canal for security reasons and acquire Greenland. 

“And I also have a message tonight for the incredible people of Greenland,” Trump said. “We strongly support your right to determine your own future, and if you choose, we welcome you into the United States of America.” 

Trump has discussed the possibility of expanding American territory for months and said in a post in December 2024 on Truth Social that “the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity.” 

GREENLAND, PANAMA FIERCELY REJECT TRUMP’S AMBITIONS IN ADDRESS TO CONGRESS

President Donald Trump discussed the matter of taking territory from Panama and Greenland on March 4 during a joint address to Congress. (Win McNamee/Getty Images/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Meanwhile, leaders from Greenland, which is a territory of Denmark, and Panama pushed back on Trump’s comments to Congress. 

“We do not want to be Americans, nor Danes, we are Kalaallit (Greenlanders),” Greenland Prime Minister Múte Egede said in a post on Facebook translated by Reuters. “The Americans and their leader must understand that.” 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP 

“I reject, on behalf of Panama and all Panamanians, this new affront to the truth and to our dignity as a nation,” Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino said in a post on X on Wednesday. 

Meanwhile, Republicans have cast doubt on whether Trump would actually launch a military conflict against countries like Greenland. For example, Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., said in an interview with NBC in January that the U.S. would not “invade another country.” 

“Quite frankly, the president’s been very clear,” Lankford said. “He is the president that kept American troops out of war. He is not looking to be able to go start a war, to go expand American troops, but he does want to be able to protect America’s national security, and part of that is our economic security and our future.”

Fox News’ Caitlin McFall and Alex Nitzberg contributed to this report. 

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he would purchase a Tesla car to support his senior advisor Elon Musk amid nationwide protests against the electric automaker.

Trump said “Radical Left Lunatics” are attempting to boycott Tesla, which he called Musk’s “baby.”

“To Republicans, Conservatives, and all great Americans, Elon Musk is ‘putting it on the line’ in order to help our Nation, and he is doing a FANTASTIC JOB!” Trump wrote on Truth Social shortly after midnight on Tuesday. “But the Radical Left Lunatics, as they often do, are trying to illegally and collusively boycott Tesla, one of the World’s great automakers, and Elon’s ‘baby,’ in order to attack and do harm to Elon, and everything he stands for.”

MUSK CLAIMS GEORGE SOROS, LINKEDIN CO-FOUNDER REID HOFFMAN ARE FUNDING ‘PROTESTS’ AGAINST TESLA

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he would purchase a Tesla car to support Elon Musk amid protests against the automaker. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

“They tried to do it to me at the 2024 Presidential Ballot Box, but how did that work out?” Trump continued.

The president explained that he was going to purchase a car from Tesla to show his support for Musk.

“In any event, I’m going to buy a brand new Tesla tomorrow morning as a show of confidence and support for Elon Musk, a truly great American,” Trump wrote. “Why should he be punished for putting his tremendous skills to work in order to help MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN???”

“Thank you, President @realDonaldTrump!” Musk responded on X.

Trump said “Radical Left Lunatics” are attempting to boycott Elon Musk’s Tesla in an attempt “to attack and do harm to Elon.” (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Tesla car owners, dealerships and charging stations have been targeted nationwide by protesters and vandals over Musk’s involvement with the Trump administration’s newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Protesters rallied outside Tesla dealerships on Saturday, holding signs denouncing Musk and DOGE, and cars and windows at an Oregon Tesla dealership were damaged by gunshots fired by protesters last week.

A man was also arrested after Molotov cocktails were thrown at a Tesla dealership in Salem, Oregon.

TESLA VEHICLES, CHARGING STATIONS TARGETED AS PROTESTERS DENOUNCE DOGE, ELON MUSK

Tesla car owners, dealerships and charging stations have been targeted nationwide by protesters and vandals over Musk’s involvement with DOGE. (Brandon Bell/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Additionally, several Tesla charging stations have been set on fire in Massachusetts, and the U.S. attorney’s office in Colorado charged a suspect after police say they found a number of explosives and concerning messages at a Tesla dealership.

Fox News’ Stepheny Price contributed to this report.

House Republicans are accusing Democrats of waging their opposition campaign against the GOP’s government funding plan over their fury at Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) efforts.

“They hate Elon Musk and Donald Trump more than they love their country,” Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., told Fox News Digital. “They’re just losing their f—— minds.”

Mace was still optimistic that some Democratic lawmakers will vote for the legislation on Tuesday afternoon, “I mean, they voted for every CR under the sun when [former President Joe Biden] was president. That’s what this is — it’s just political games.”

First-term Rep. Jeff Crank, R-Colo., told Fox News Digital, “It’s either [President Donald Trump] or Elon Musk or a combination thereof, right?”

DEMOCRATS PRIVATELY REBUKE PARTY MEMBERS WHO JEERED TRUMP DURING SPEECH TO CONGRESS: REPORT

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is leading opposition to Republicans’ anti-government shutdown plan. (Getty Images)

“They’ve had nothing but political losses from November forward. Last week was the worst political loss I think they’ve suffered in a long time,” Crank said, referring to Democrats’ intra-party divisions over some lawmakers’ disruptions during Trump’s speech to Congress. “I guess they’ve got to keep fighting, but what they should do is the right thing: Keep the government open.”

Musk and his DOGE work have been met with near-universal condemnation by Democrats, even those who have agreed with the need to cut the federal bureaucracy. 

Democrats have held Musk up as a political boogeyman, an unelected billionaire who was given too much access to the federal government that he also profits from as a military contractor.

But Republicans, with some exceptions, have defended his work as necessary.

Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., told Fox News Digital that Musk is “doing damage to our government” but denied his work being a factor in his likely decision to oppose the funding bill.

“Musk doesn’t live rent-free in my head,” Crow said. “I’m not making legislative decisions based upon Elon Musk and what he does and doesn’t do in any given day… I’m focusing on my constituents.”

GOLDMAN SACHS HIGHLIGHTS TARIFF WARS WINNERS AND LOSERS

Rep. Nancy Mace said Democrats are losing their “minds” over Musk while using an expletive (REUTERS/Mike Segar)

Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., when asked about Musk, did not mention the billionaire at all. Instead, he pivoted to criticize House Republicans for putting a stopgap government funding bill known as a continuing resolution (CR) up for a vote, rather than dealing with a fresh slate of fiscal year (FY) 2025 appropriations bills.

“Republicans have said for the longest time, right, that CRs are no longer the way to fund the government. Speaker Johnson promised to do individual spending bills. That was his pitch to his colleagues in order to remain speaker. OK. He’s the one who’s going back on his word to his own colleagues,” Moskowitz said.

But Democrats have nevertheless used Musk in their public broadsides against the bill.

“It takes away veterans’ healthcare. It takes away critical research funding. Those are the things that House Republicans are willing to do just to give Elon Musk and Donald Trump’s friends continued tax breaks. That’s unacceptable to House Democrats,” House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., told reporters on Monday.

Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., wrote on X, “Trump and Musk are illegally shutting down federal agencies, mass firing federal workers, and freezing congressionally mandated funding. It’s causing massive job losses and economic chaos for my constituents, and the Republican CR would continue this disaster. I will vote no.”

President Donald Trump has been calling Republicans against the CR ( SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

The proposed CR roughly freezes government funding at FY 2024 levels through the beginning of FY 2026, on Oct 1. It includes extra funding for defense while cutting nondefense funding by roughly $13 billion.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

House GOP leadership aides said over the weekend that the bill includes some added funding for veterans’ healthcare — putting them at odds with Democrats’ messaging.

Democratic lawmakers normally vote in droves to avert a government shutdown, but this time it’s likely House Republicans will need to share the burden largely on their own.

As of Monday night, several Republicans are still undecided on how they will vote, despite Trump making calls to GOP lawmakers who are on the fence.

Lawmakers in the Texas legislature are considering a bill that would prohibit people in the state from changing the gender marker on their birth certificate to reflect their gender identity.

The measure, Senate Bill 406, is now being debated in the Texas Senate.

Last year, the Texas Department of Public Safety stopped changing gender on driver’s licenses unless courts intervened, according to FOX 4.

The Senate bill would block changes to gender on birth certificates, regardless of whether there is a court order.

TEXAS LAWMAKER PROPOSES BILL TO BAN GENDER TRANSITION TREATMENT FOR EVERYONE, INCLUDING ADULTS

Texas lawmakers are considering a bill that would prohibit people in the state from changing the gender on their birth certificate. (Tamir Kalifa/Getty Images)

“This bill is not about restricting anyone’s personal expression. It is about ensuring legal documents reflect accurate statistics,” GOP state Sen. Mayes Middleton, who sponsored the bill, said Monday in a State Affairs Committee hearing. “Right now, the only way to change sex is by court order, and this bill prevents that.”

Testifying before the committee, Megan Benton of the group Texas Values said this is “a matter of public safety and public record.”

“If a man can legally change his birth certificate to say he is a woman, then it’s possible to get a driver’s license, passport, and social security card that also says he is female,” she said.

Several transgender Texans also testified before the committee, saying they believe they are being unfairly targeted.

S.B. 406 is now being debated in the Texas Senate. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

“I’m not a monster. This is not a fetish for me, and I did not decide to be a woman,” Amanda McLaughlin said.

Megan Fairbanks asked, “What harm have I caused society?”

“I don’t play sports. The only thing I want to do in the bathroom is use the bathroom and touch up my makeup and wash my hands,” Fairbanks said.

The Transgender Education Network of Texas’ policy coordinator, Landon Richie, argued that the bill would lead to isolation and incentivize others to discriminate or put targets on the backs of transgender people who he said are already vulnerable.

DYLAN MULVANEY REACTS TO GAVIN NEWSOM’S REMARKS ON TRANS ATHLETES PARTICIPATING IN WOMEN’S SPORTS

Several transgender Texans said they believe they are being unfairly targeted. (Adobe Stock)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The bill is expected to pass through the Senate and be sent to the House.

This comes after state lawmakers passed legislation banning biological men from competing in girls’ school sports.

At the federal level, President Donald Trump signed an executive order recognizing male and female as the only genders.

Teachers’ union boss Randi Weingarten said during a recent podcast appearance that she is fearful President Donald Trump’s plans to terminate the Department of Education will mean more funding for school choice vouchers, which she decried as a “tax credit” for wealthy families already sending their kids to private school. 

Weingarten’s comments came during a podcast interview with Molly Jong-Fast, who spoke with her about the implications of Trump’s spending reforms, particularly his plan to terminate the Department of Education. Weingarten stated that cutting the department’s roughly $100 billion in funding will primarily benefit tax cuts for the wealthy or – “equally pernicious” – be redirected to states as “block grants.”

“We know, for example, what Texas would do,” Weingarten told Jong-Fast. “They’ll use it for vouchers. So they won’t give [federal funding] to the kids who have it now, they’ll just give it for vouchers.” 

THREE MORE STATES JOIN TREND OF PASSING UNIVERSAL SCHOOL CHOICE

“And frankly, what we are seeing in all the programs now – in terms of vouchers – they don’t work for kids,” Weingarten continued. “They basically go right now – it becomes a tax credit for people who already are sending their kids to private schools. So it’s income redistribution.”

Randi Weingarten is the president of the American Federation of Teachers, the nation’s second-largest teachers’ union behind the National Education Association.  (Reuters/Getty)

Trump has not taken any formal action to dismantle the the department, but media reports have signaled he is close to signing an executive order directing his education secretary, Linda McMahon, to begin the process. Last month, the president mused during a press conference from the Oval Office that the Education Department was “a big con job” that needed to be shut down “immediately.”

Alongside his anticipated executive action to dismantle the department Trump issued an executive order on Jan. 29 to expand “educational freedom” for families through various school choice programs, including vouchers.

“We’re fighting to protect our kids and protect that funding and not let Donald Trump or Elon Musk glom it off for tax cuts for billionaires or for block grants for vouchers,” Weingarten responded after Jong-Fast asked what she and her union, the American Federation of Teachers, was doing to combat Trump. Weingarten added that regardless of whether you are a Republican or Democrat, ensuring American families have the economic and educational opportunities to achieve the American Dream, should be a priority.

TRUMP CUTS MORE THAN $400 MILLION IN GRANTS TO COLUMBIA OVER ANTISEMITISM CONCERNS, POTENTIALLY MORE TO COME

“We all have to do a lot more to help make sure that families in America have what they need for a quality of life, for entry into the middle class,” Weingarten said.

Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFTHQ YouTube channel)

However, while Weingarten may be of the belief that school choice funding, in particular for vouchers, does not benefit the economic and educational opportunities of Americans, others disagree with that notion. 

Rachel Langan, a senior education policy analyst at the Commonwealth Foundation, a public policy think-tank based in Pennsylvania, said “simply spending more money” is not an answer to the deficiencies within the U.S. education system. 

“Pennsylvania already dedicates more than $37 billion to public schools, more than $22,000 per student. Yet, the latest U.S. Department of Education data shows that 69% of Pennsylvania eighth-grade students aren’t proficient at math, and an equal 69% cannot read at grade level – despite a $4.1 billion increase in state education spending in the last four years,” Langan said in a statement following Trump’s executive order directing the federal government to prioritize school choice funding.

 TRUMP ADMIN TACKLING BIDEN ‘BACKLOG’ OF CAMPUS ANTISEMITISM COMPLAINTS: ‘IMMEDIATE PRIORITY’ 

“Parents need more educational options, as evidenced by the continued waiting lists for charter schools and for the state’s tax credit scholarship programs, which serve large numbers of low-income families zoned to attend low-achieving public schools.”

Students and classroom split image (iStock/Getty)

“The time is now for school choice in every state,” the American Federation for Children, a nonprofit that advocates for school choice, added following Trump’s order. “For a generation, our nation’s education system has been held hostage by bureaucrats and schooling unions who care only about preserving their own power, not the needs of American students.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Since Trump’s executive order boosting school choice funding, a handful of states have introduced legislation to make these programs more widely available. In total, 14 states have passed universal school choice bills. 

Fox News Digital reached out to the American Federation of Teachers and Weingarten for comment, but did not hear back prior to publication. 

FIRST ON FOX: President Donald Trump is making calls on Monday to potential holdouts on a plan to avoid a government shutdown at the end of this week, a White House official confirmed to Fox News digital.

Three sources have said Trump world is making calls to Capitol Hill ahead of the late Tuesday afternoon vote.

Two senior House Republicans said they expected Trump to speak directly with critics of the bill sometime before the vote on Tuesday.

DEMOCRATS PRIVATELY REBUKE PARTY MEMBERS WHO JEERED TRUMP DURING SPEECH TO CONGRESS: REPORT

President Donald Trump is helping get House Republicans’ CR over the line. (Getty Images)

The House and Senate must pass a bill and get it to Trump’s desk before the end of Friday to avoid a partial government shutdown.

Two sources said Trump aides have been in contact with lawmakers who could vote against the bill, while the third source said the White House has also phoned reliable “yes” votes to ensure Republicans will “show a unified front” during the vote.

“I’m sure the president is making calls,” one senior House Republican told Fox News Digital.

But as of late afternoon Monday, the pressure campaign has not reached every House GOP lawmaker with doubts.

One GOP lawmaker who said they were undecided about the bill said they had not heard from the White House, nor House leadership.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has said Democrats will not help Republicans pass the bill. (Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The legislation is a rough extension of fiscal year (FY) 2024 funding levels known as a “continuing resolution” (CR).

Republicans have traditionally rejected CRs in droves, frequently advocating for “regular order” involving 12 annual appropriations bills crafted by Congress. 

But unlike with previous CR votes, House Democratic leaders have signaled that the left will not vote against shutting down the government en masse as usual over the last two years.

Democratic leaders have accused Republicans of using the CR to pave the way for Trump and Elon Musk to carry out their Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) efforts — something conservatives are using as an argument to their own colleagues in favor of the bill.

It’s possible at least several moderate Democrats running in competitive races next year will vote to avoid a shutdown, but Republicans are expected to largely shoulder the burden on their own.

At least one Republican, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., is already opposed. He wrote on X, “Unless I get a lobotomy Monday that causes me to forget what I’ve witnessed the past 12 years, I’ll be a NO on the CR this week.”

It’s not immediately clear if the White House has made any private overtures to Massie for his vote, and his spokesman did not immediately return a request for comment.

GOLDMAN SACHS HIGHLIGHTS TARIFF WARS WINNERS AND LOSERS

Rep. Thomas Massie has said he is voting against the bill. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Former Trump campaign manager Chris LaCivita, however, responded to him with a pointed message on X, “Tick tock Tommie.”

Meanwhile, a third House Republican, who said it “wouldn’t surprise” them if Trump was making calls, was frustrated at what they saw as repetitive political theater by dissenters.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“You’ve got these handful of members that see themselves as the ‘purists,’ and if we all just shared their vision, all of the problems we faced would magically disappear. This act is getting old!” the House Republican said. “Can you imagine if we just shut down the government during a unified government because we can’t get an agreement out of the House?”

Fox News Digital reached out to Speaker Mike Johnson’s office and the White House for comment but did not hear back by press time.

House Republicans released the text of their 99-page continuing resolution on Saturday.

Trump was previously credited with helping get House Republicans’ framework for a massive conservative budget overhaul over the line after lengthy phone calls with two holdouts, Reps. Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., and Tim Burchett, R-Tenn.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the failed 2024 vice presidential candidate, conducted a postmortem on his 2024 campaign with former Vice President Kamala Harris, determining the Democrats played it too safe during the cycle. 

“We shouldn’t have been playing this thing so safe,” Walz told Politico in an interview published Saturday. 

He added: “I think we probably should have just rolled the dice and done the town halls, where (voters) may say, ‘You’re full of s—, I don’t believe in you.’ I think there could have been more of that.”

Walz joined Harris on the Democratic ticket in August 2024, just days after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race in July amid mounting concerns over the commander in chief’s mental acuity and as Harris moved to pick up the mantle at the top of the ticket. The Harris campaign had just more than 100 days between Biden dropping out and rallying support for the Harris-Walz ticket on Nov. 5. 

FAILED VP CANDIDATE TIM WALZ SKEWERED AFTER HINTING AT POTENTIAL 2028 PRESIDENTIAL RUN

Gov. Tim Walz at the DNC in Chicago in August 2024. (Getty Images)

The Trump-Vance ticket swept the battleground states on election night, catapulting them to victory with 312 electoral votes to Harris’ 226. 

Walz has been on a media blitz in recent days, including speaking with the New Yorker, joining MSNBC ahead of President Donald Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress, speaking at the South By Southwest film festival on Saturday and teeing up an interview on California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s podcast. 

TIM WALZ SAYS LOSING PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IS ‘PURE HELL,’ ADMITS DEMS ARE ‘FATIGUED’ IN MSNBC INTERVIEW

Walz argued that Democrats “are more cautious” in engaging with the media than Republicans, while adding that he felt as if the campaign was never ahead, comparing it to a “prevent defense” strategy during a football game. 

“In football parlance, we were in a prevent defense to not lose when we never had anything to lose because I don’t think we were ever ahead,” he said, which bolsters reporting following the election that internal Democratic polling showed Harris lagging behind Trump in the lead-up to Nov. 5. 

Vice President Kamala Harris and running mate Tim Walz campaign in Rochester, Pennsylvania, on Aug. 18, 2024. (Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images)

Walz took ownership for the party’s loss in 2024, telling the outlet that “when you’re on the ticket and you don’t win, that’s your responsibility.” 

TIM WALZ ADMITS HE WAS SURPRISED BY ELECTION DEFEAT: ‘THOUGHT THE COUNTRY WAS READY’

A handful of former presidential campaign staffers who spoke to the outlet under the condition of anonymity relayed that Walz wasn’t presented to voters in an effective manner, and was instead kept in a “box,” which they said compounded the Harris–Walz loss to the Trump–Vance ticket. 

JD Vance and Tim Walz speak during the 2024 vice presidential debate. (Matt Rourke/The Associated Press)

“He was underutilized and that was the symptom of the larger campaign of decision paralysis and decision logjam at the top,” one former senior Harris aide told the outlet. “Could he have changed a percent in Wisconsin? Maybe. We still lose even if we win Wisconsin.”

Walz was put “in a box,” and “we didn’t use him the way we could’ve,” the aide added. 

“The world seemed to want more Tim Walz, and there were times when I wish they could’ve gotten more Tim Walz,” Democratic Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said, adding that he “wished they would’ve put [Walz] out there more.”

TIM WALZ THOUGHT HIS LACK OF WEALTH WAS ‘REAL FLEX’ AGAINST TRUMP: ‘HOW… DID WE LOSE TO A BILLIONAIRE?’

“By the time they finally let him do anything at all, it’s like 20 days left, and he’s doing four states a day, and there’s only so much you could do,” another former staffer said of Walz. “It was too short.”

The aides argued that Walz faced a steep battle ahead of his debate against then-Ohio Sen. JD Vance, remarking that he was “super nervous” and “in his own head” while preparing to face the Trump running mate on the stage. 

Gov. Tim Walz was mocked on social media following his suggestion he might run for president in 2028. (Getty Images)

“It looked as if Vance was the conductor and Walz was following the script,” longtime Democrtic strategist David Axelrod told Politico of the VP debate. “I don’t think that was the reason they lost, but that was not helpful either.”

‘DOOMED’: EXPERTS SAY THIS CRUCIAL CAMPAIGN DECISION LED TO VP HARRIS’ ‘DISASTROUS’ DEFEAT

Walz reportedly carried campaign flubs heavily on his mind, while some aides argued that the Harris campaign “didn’t do enough to punch back” against criticisms and defend Walz, such as when he falsely claimed he carried guns while in war. Walz joined the Army National Guard in 1981 and retired in 2005, but never saw combat. 

“This was a guy who definitely was embarrassed by his flubs, didn’t handle them well, and seemed like there was a never-ending supply of them, so that was part of the issue of getting him out there everywhere,” a former Harris staffer told Politico. “I don’t look back on that campaign and think that the way we used Walz was a critical error.”

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally outside the Atlanta Civic Center, Nov. 2, 2024. (Jacquelyn Martin/The Associated Press)

Walz revealed in an interview with the New Yorker, published March 2, that he is open to a potential presidential run in 2028, which was met with mockery by conservatives on social media earlier in March. 

Walz reiterated in his Politico interview that he is “not saying no” to a potential 2028 presidential run if the opportunity should present itself. 

“I’m staying on the playing field to try and help because we have to win,” Walz said. “And I will always say this, I will do everything in my power [to help], and as I said, with the vice presidency, if that was me, then I’ll do the job.”

 CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Fox News Digital reached out to Walz’s office for additional comment on his remarks and did not immediately receive a reply. 

A federal judge in Manhattan ruled that anti-Israel agitator Mahmoud Khalil is not to be deported “unless and until the Court orders otherwise,” on Monday. 

Khalil, who led anti-Israel protests and encampments on Columbia University’s campus, was taken into custody on the Upper West Side in New York City on Saturday. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said he was a former Columbia graduate student who “led activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization.” 

The judge ordered a hearing for Wednesday. Khalil’s lawyer also filed a motion that he be returned to New York City while the case plays out. According to ICE, Khalil is currently being held at the Lasalle Detention facility in Louisiana. Khalil’s lawyer has insisted their client was detained illegally and should be released.

His attorney, Amy E. Greer, released a new statement Monday evening, saying he is “healthy and his spirits are undaunted by his predicament.”

ICE AGENTS ARREST ANTI-ISRAEL ACTIVIST WHO LED PROTESTS ON COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY CAMPUS FOR MONTHS

Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., expressed concern for anti-Israel activist Mahmoud Khalil, who was arrested by ICE agents on March 8. (Getty Images | Pool)

The statement continued: “The remarks by government officials, including the President, on social media only confirm the purpose – and illegality – of Mahmoud’s detention. He was chosen as an example to stifle entirely lawful dissent in violation of the First Amendment. While tomorrow or thereafter the government may cite the law or process, that toothpaste is out of the tube and irreversibly so. The government’s objective is as transparent as it is unlawful, and our role as Mahmoud’s lawyers is to ensure it does not prevail.”

Khalil’s wife also spoke out in a statement, calling for her husband to be released.

“Mahmoud is my rock, he is my home, and he is my happy place…,” she wrote. “For everyone reading this, I urge you to see Mahmoud through my eyes as a loving husband and the future father to our baby. I need your help to bring Mahmoud home, so he is here beside me, holding my hand in the delivery room as we welcome our first child into this world. Please release Mahmoud Now.”

Politicians have also spoken out in defense of Khalil. “Squad” member Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., criticized his arrest, calling the incident an “egregious violation of constitutional rights.”

In a post published to Instagram on Sunday, Tlaib wrote that it was “dangerous to allow our government to target people based on political speech” and warned that “more targeting of students like this will happen.”

“Everyone should be concerned about this,” Tlaib said in the Instagram video.

The Michigan congresswoman also addressed the reports about Khalil having a student visa revoked after his lawyer said he was a legal permanent resident.

“They were revoking his student visa. Well, guess what? He doesn’t have a student visa,” Tlaib claimed. “He’s a green card holder, legal permanent resident.”

“Now, again, they proceed to engage the attorney … he or she asked for a warrant, they hung up on them,” she continued. “If you believe in constitutional rights, you understand that they’re targeting this person. And everyone knows he has been very vocal against the genocide of the Palestinian people in Gaza, and they’re targeting him and refusing him constitutional rights. Who’s next?”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., released a statement supporting Khalil. 

“Mahmoud Khalil is a legal permanent resident whose wife, an American citizen, is eight months pregnant,” Jefferies said. “To the extent his actions were inconsistent with Columbia University policy and created an unacceptable hostile academic environment for Jewish students and others, there is a serious university disciplinary process that can handle the matter.”

Jefferies went on to say that “DHS must produce facts and evidence of criminal activity.” He said the actions of the Trump administration are “wildly inconsistent with the United States Constitution.”

In an X post on Monday, New York State Attorney General Letitia James expressed concern.

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

Mahmoud Khalil (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey/File)

“I am extremely concerned about the arrest and detention of Mahmoud Khalil, an advocate and legal permanent resident of Palestinian descent,” James’ post reads. “My office is monitoring the situation, and we are in contact with his attorney.”

James’ comments came hours before hundreds of protesters gathered outside the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building in New York to express support for Khalil. Pictures show demonstrators waving Palestinian flags, carrying signs and wearing keffiyehs.

Protesters rally against the arrest of former Columbia graduate student Mahmoud Khalil in New York on March 10, 2025. (Stephanie Keith for Fox News Digital)

President Donald Trump said Khalil’s apprehension was “the first arrest of many to come” in a recent social media post.

“We know there are more students at Columbia and other Universities across the Country who have engaged in pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American activity, and the Trump Administration will not tolerate it,” Trump said in a Truth Social post. 

Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite/File)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“Many are not students, they are paid agitators,” he added. “We will find, apprehend, and deport these terrorist sympathizers from our country — never to return again.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Tlaib’s office for additional comment.

Fox News Digital’s Pilar Arias and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Senate confirmed former Oregon Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer to head the Department of Labor, marking the completion of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet secretaries.

Chavez-DeRemer was confirmed by the Senate with bipartisan support in a 67-32 vote on Monday evening. Three Republicans, Sens. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Ted Budd, R-N.C., voted against Chavez-DeRemer’s confirmation.

“The American people demand and deserve change after four years of economic heartache under the ‘most pro-union administration in American history.’ Unfortunately, Lori Chavez-DeRemer’s record pushing policies that force hardworking Americans into union membership suggests more of the same,” McConnell said in a statement. 

Paul has consistently opposed Chavez-DeRemer’s nomination over her past support for the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, voting against the motion to proceed her nomination to a final Senate vote. 

FOLLOWING KEY WINS, TRUMP POISED FOR CABINET COMPLETION IN RECORD TIME

Former Representative Lori Chavez-DeRemer, U.S. Labor secretary nominee for President Donald Trump, looks on during a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee confirmation hearing in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. (Allison Robbert/Bloomberg)

However, Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, said that Chavez-DeRemer is “committed to this mission and ready to work with the HELP Committee to secure a better future for all workers.”

“The Biden administration used its authority as a weapon against workers, threatening their ability to earn a living and provide for their families. With President Trump back in office, we have an opportunity to enact a pro-America agenda at the Department of Labor that puts workers first,” Cassidy said in a statement shared with Fox News Digital.

Chavez-DeRemer has received support from Democratic senators throughout her confirmation process, including from Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., who said she believed the Trump nominee was “qualified to serve as the next secretary of Labor.”

“The Department of Labor plays an integral role in supporting workers and small businesses alike, and after hearing significant support from constituents, including members of labor unions in New Hampshire, I will support Representative Chavez-DeRemer’s nomination as Secretary of Labor,” Hassan shared in a statement to Fox News Digital after voting to advance the Trump nominee through the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.

WWE LEGEND TO LEAD EDUCATION DEPARTMENT AFTER CLINCHING FINAL MATCH IN THE SENATE

President Donald Trump tapped Lori Chavez-DeRemer to head the Department of Labor. (Getty Images/Reuters)

Chavez-DeRemer previously served as mayor of Happy Valley, Oregon, from 2011 to 2018, before being elected to represent the state’s 5th Congressional District in Congress in the 2022 midterms.

The Teamsters Union endorsed the Trump nominee for the top role in Trump’s Cabinet.

Former Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, R-Ore., participates in the House Transportation Committee hearing. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“As the daughter of a Teamster, Lori Chavez-DeRemer knows the importance of carrying a union card and what it means to grow up in a middle-class household,” Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien said in a February statement. 

“Working people need someone with her experience leading the agency that is tasked with protecting workers, creating good union jobs, and rebuilding our nation’s middle class.”

A plan to avert a partial government shutdown backed by President Donald Trump is heading for a House-wide vote on Tuesday.

The House Rules Committee, the final gatekeeper before legislation hits the House of Representatives chamber, advanced the bill along party lines on Monday evening. 

Tuesday is expected to first see a vote to allow for lawmakers to debate the bill, known as a “rule vote,” followed by a chamber-wide vote on the legislation itself later in the afternoon.

It’s a major test for Trump and Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., as they seek to corral a House GOP conference that’s been exceptionally fractured on the subject of government funding.

DEMOCRATS PRIVATELY REBUKE PARTY MEMBERS WHO JEERED TRUMP DURING SPEECH TO CONGRESS: REPORT

Speaker Mike Johnson is ushering a funding plan backed by President Donald Trump through the House. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

As of late Monday evening, the bill’s chances of passing are still uncertain, even despite Trump himself making calls to potential holdouts.

Two sources told Fox News Digital that Vice President JD Vance will be on Capitol Hill on Tuesday morning for House Republicans’ regular conference meeting, in an apparent bid to help push dissenters along.

In addition to one staunch opponent, there are at least four other House Republicans who are undecided or leaning against the bill.

With all lawmakers present, Johnson will likely only be able to lose two Republicans to pass a bill along party lines.

Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., told reporters he was “currently” against the bill during the House’s 6 p.m. ET vote series.

“I like the fact that it has less spending, but I hate the fact that they push it over to the war pimps at the Pentagon once again, and that’s kind of my hang-up,” Burchett said, adding that he hadn’t heard from Trump at the time. 

Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., and Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Ga., signaled they were undecided, with the latter signaling he was leaning against the bill.

“I refuse to paint myself in the corner. I don’t think that’s a smart thing to do. But as it stands right now, it doesn’t make sense to say anything is going to be different in September than it is right now,” McCormick said.

The bill is a continuing resolution (CR), which is a rough extension of fiscal 2024 funding levels to keep the government open through the start of fiscal 2026 on Oct. 1.

Republicans are largely expected to shoulder the bill alone in the House, despite a significant number of GOP lawmakers who would normally be opposed to extending Biden administration-era funding levels. House GOP leaders are confident, however, that it will pass.

Democrats have outnumbered Republicans in anti-government shutdown votes in recent years, but this time their opposition Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has many left-wing lawmakers signaling their opposition to the bill.

But what’s lending optimism to Johnson allies is the fact that two of the measure’s most vocal backers are the senior-most members of the hawkish House Freedom Caucus.

Rep. Chip Roy is one of the bill’s key advocates. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, the group’s policy chair, told Fox News Digital on Monday morning that a key part of conservatives’ pitch to fellow fiscal hawks is that Trump will likely still move to spend less money than the CR appropriates, including funding that he’s already blocked by executive order.

“Step 1 is the CR freezes spending, guys, that’s a win; No. 2, no earmarks; No. 3, no giant omnibus; No. 4, we believe the president can impound,” Roy said of his pitch.

Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris, R-Md., cited Republicans’ near-uniform vote on their Trump-backed federal budget bill last month.

“There were a lot of people in Washington who said we would never pass a debt ceiling increase with only Republican votes, and we did in the House,” Harris said. “I think, similarly, there’s some people who, including some of the Democrats, who think, ‘Well, they’re going to have to come to us, because they can never pass a continuing resolution with only Republican votes.’ And I think we’re going to see the same result [Tuesday].”

But with razor-thin margins, Johnson can afford precious little dissent to still pass the bill on party lines.

At least one Republican is already opposed: Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., a staunch Johnson critic, wrote on X late Sunday, “Unless I get a lobotomy Monday that causes me to forget what I’ve witnessed the past 12 years, I’ll be a NO on the CR this week. It amazes me that my colleagues and many of the public fall for the lie that we will fight another day.”

The 99-page legislation was released over the weekend.

GOLDMAN SACHS HIGHLIGHTS TARIFF WARS WINNERS AND LOSERS

The bill allocates an additional $8 billion in defense spending to mitigate national security hawks’ concerns, while non-defense spending that Congress annually appropriates would decrease by about $13 billion.

There are also some added funds to help facilitate Immigrations and Customs Enforcement operations.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Cuts to non-defense discretionary spending would be found by eliminating some “side deals” made during Fiscal Responsibility Act negotiations, House GOP leadership aides said. Lawmakers would also not be given an opportunity to request funding for special pet projects in their districts known as earmarks, another area that Republicans are classifying as savings.

It allows Republican leaders to claim a win on no meaningful government spending increases over fiscal 2025.

The House of Representatives passed a bill aimed at cracking down on Mexican cartels’ use of tunnels underneath the southwestern border to smuggle illegal immigrants and illicit items the U.S.

The bill passed with overwhelming bipartisan support in a 402 to 1 vote – with the lone dissenter being Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich. Fox News Digital reached out to her office for comment but did not immediately hear back.

The bill is led by Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., but enjoys bipartisan support thanks to its lone Democratic co-sponsor, Rep. Lou Correa, D-Calif.

NEW REPORT REVEALS ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT POPULATION HIT NEW HIGH DURING BIDEN-ERA CRISIS

Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., is the lone lawmaker who voted against the bill. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

It’s also backed by six other House Republicans, including Rep. Michael Guest, R-Miss., chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee’s subcommittee on border security.

The legislation, titled the Subterranean Border Defense Act, would direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to submit an annual report to Congress about cartels’ use of tunnels and how U.S. law enforcement was looking to combat it.

‘LEAVE NOW’: TRUMP ADMIN REPURPOSES CONTROVERSIAL CBP ONE APP TO ENCOURAGE SELF-DEPORTATIONS

Rep. Eli Crane co-led the bill and spoke in favor of it on the House floor. (Getty Images)

“Since 1990, officials have discovered more than 140 tunnels that have breached the U.S. border with an 80% increase in tunnel activity occurring since 2008,” Crane said during debate on the bill. “With border crossings thankfully going down since January, I think it’s safe to assume this will drive threats to our border underground through these tunnels.”

Debate on the bill was brief on Monday afternoon, lasting less than 10 minutes. Just Correa and Crane spoke, with no lawmakers rising to oppose the bill.

“I believe this bill is an important step in the right direction,” Correa said.

He said the legislation if passed “will improve Congress’ efforts to counter illicit cross-border tunnels and hold bad actors accountable.”

CIUDAD JUAREZ , MEXICO – JANUARY 10: Binational operation dismantles human trafficking tunnel in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on January 10, 2025. ((Photo by Christian Torres/Anadolu via Getty Images))

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

It’s a rare show of bipartisanship in today’s House of Representatives, with Crane being known as one of the most conservative members of the House GOP.

House leaders held the vote under suspension of the rules, meaning the legislation was fast-tracked to a final House-wide vote in exchange for raising the threshold for passage from a simple majority to two-thirds.

It’s what House GOP leaders have done for critical legislation that is expected to receive wide bipartisan support.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem swore in Sean Curran on Monday to serve as the director of the U.S. Secret Service.

The swearing-in ceremony took place in the Oval Office, where President Donald Trump and Noem joined Curran.

“Sean’s brave actions when he risked his life to help save President Trump’s life in Butler, Pennsylvania is a testament to his dedication to the mission of the US Secret Service,” Noem said in a statement. “With his decades of experience, he will return the Secret Service to focusing on its core mission: protecting American leaders and the U.S. financial system.”

“I look forward to working alongside Sean to ensure that the Secret Service is stronger than ever before,” she added.

WHO IS SEAN CURRAN? HEAD OF TRUMP’S PERSONAL DETAIL TO BE NOMINATED FOR SECRET SERVICE DIRECTOR

Secret Service Director Sean Curran is sworn in by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem in the Oval Office. (X post from Dan Scavino: Official White House Account)

Curran was among the group of agents who rushed to the stage to shield Trump with their bodies during a failed assassination attempt on July 13 in Butler that left two dead and the candidate with an injury to his ear.

Curran appeared next to Trump in a series of photos showing the former and future president returning to his feet, blood running down his face and raising a fist, prompting cheers from the audience.

Three bystanders were shot. They were firefighter Corey Comperatore, 50, who died from his injuries, David Dutch, 57, and James Copenhaver, 74, both of whom survived.

SECRET SERVICE STRUGGLE TO PROTECT PRESIDENTS WON’T SEE ‘IMMEDIATE’ END EVEN WITH MORE MANPOWER: RETIRED AGENT

Secret Service Director Sean Curran is sworn in by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem in the Oval Office. (X post from Dan Scavino: Official White House Account)

In the aftermath, Trump praised the members of his personal detail and defended them from criticism.

“Trump wanted someone he could trust, and they clearly have formed a bond after Pennsylvania,” former Secret Service agent Bill Gage said in January.

SECRET SERVICE DIRECTOR CHEATLE RESIGNS AFTER MOUNTING PRESSURE IN WAKE OF TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT

Secret Service Director Sean Curran is sworn in by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem in the Oval Office. (X post from Dan Scavino: Official White House Account)

“Even with all of the mistakes in Butler, the mistakes were from the advance team. The agents assigned to Trump and Curran performed exactly as trained.”

Curran maintains a low profile but is often pictured at Trump’s side. 

He even has fans on TikTok.

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The attempt on Trump’s life led to intense scrutiny of the U.S. Secret Service and the resignation of Director Kimberly Cheatle.

Fox News Digital’s Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.

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…

–Newsom’s ties to CCP under microscope in new book exposing alleged corruption: ‘Fleeced American citizens’

-Trump’s eighth week in office set to continue breakneck level of actions, rallying GOP to avoid shutdown

-How ‘judge shopping’ is shaping the legal fights against President Trump’s agenda in federal court

It’s a ‘no’ from Massie 

As the deadline to avert a partial government shutdown approaches and President Donald Trump urges Republicans to support passage of a funding measure, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., has declared that he will oppose the proposal.

“Unless I get a lobotomy Monday that causes me to forget what I’ve witnessed the past 12 years, I’ll be a NO on the CR this week. It amazes me that my colleagues and many of the public fall for the lie that we will fight another day,” Massie declared in a Sunday post on X.

President Donald Trump has urged Republicans to pass the measure…Read more

Rep. Thomas Massie, who is leading the push to end the Education Department in the House, said he was “pleasantly surprised” to hear Donald Trump support such an effort (Getty Images)

White House

‘NO CREDIBLE ACTION’: Trump admin makes ‘backlog of complaints’ of antisemitism from Biden administration an ‘immediate priority’

‘LEAVE NOW’: Trump admin rolls out new app to replace CBP One, encourage self-deportations

‘FINANCIAL BURDEN’: New study reveals ‘staggering’ scope of how much DEI was infused into government under Biden

A new study reveals just how entrenched DEI became in the Biden Adminisration  (Getty)

DISASTER SHIFT: Trump to sign disaster relief order putting states, localities in the driver’s seat of catastrophe response

‘FIRED’ UP: WH lambasts ‘head-in-the-sand’ liberal prosecutors after 20 AGs sue to halt DOGE cuts

World Stage

MAXIMUM PRESSURE: Trump admin ends waiver allowing Iraq to buy Iranian electricity as part of ‘maximum pressure’ campaign

Capitol Hill

‘PURE EVIL’: Social media explodes at Sanders for hosting trans musician who sang ‘pure evil’ song at anti-Trump rally

TRUMP CARD: Dems weaponize Medicaid anxiety in bid to take down Trump-backed federal funding plan

GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN LOOMS: Days from partial government shutdown deadline, here’s where things stand

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., walks through the Capitol, Monday, March 3, 2025, in Washington.  (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

EMOTIONAL RETURN: Sole Cuban-born congressman talks emotional return to island as part of congressional GITMO CODEL

DISSING DOGE: ‘Hurting people to help themselves’: Dem senator disses DOGE’s CFPB cuts

‘GOING ON THE OFFENSE’: AOC ‘going on the offense’ to rally red-district voters against Trump: report

PECULIAR PAIRING: Freedom Caucus member Anna Paulina Luna joins AOC to push 10% credit card interest rate cap proposal

Across America 

MAIL FAIL: DOGE lawmakers look to defund Biden’s anemic-paced $3B EV postal truck ‘boondoggle’

‘KICK IN THE PANTS’: Pentagon losing cutting edge on weapons innovation, needs ‘massive kick in the pants,’ say defense leaders

‘HISTORIC REFORM’: Sec Rubio says purge of USAID programs complete with 83% gone, remainder now falling under State Dept

LIFE AND TAXES: New Missouri bill would let residents donate to pregnancy centers instead of paying any taxes

‘CAUSE A CONFRONTATION’: CA sheriff blasts media ‘fearmongering’ and warns activists they will get people ‘hurt’ by defying ICE

Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco spoke to Fox News Digital about activists opposing Trump’s deportations (Getty)

2028 SPECULATION: Democrat governor to headline top party fundraiser in key presidential primary state stoking 2028 speculation

SCHOOL SAFETY: Arkansas public school students will soon be required to take gun safety courses

SPACE FOR SAVINGS: NASA shutters DEI office as Trump admin downsizes federal agencies

KASH ON DELIVERY: FBI Director Patel working ‘aggressively’ to comply with congressional record requests ahead of deadlines

STAMP OF APPROVAL: Conservative intellectual, National Review founder Bill Buckley honored on new U.S. Postal Service stamps

(Getty/U.S. Postal Service)

POLITICAL BAGGAGE: Scandal-scarred former Gov Andrew Cuomo is the frontrunner in NYC mayoral race

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

FIRST ON FOX: A bipartisan pair of senators are teaming up to pass “commonsense legislation” that ensures the families of former law enforcement officers who are killed in retirement are protected by benefits.

Sens. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., introduced the Chief Herbert D. Proffitt Act, shared first with Fox News Digital, on Monday to amend the Public Safety Officers’ Benefits Program and make families of former law enforcement officers eligible to receive benefits if the former officer is killed or permanently disabled after retirement. 

The legislation is named after Chief Herbert D. Proffitt, a retired officer who was shot and killed in his driveway by someone he had arrested decades prior.

GOP SENATOR REVEALS STRATEGY TO PUSH TRUMP’S POLICIES THROUGH CONGRESS: ‘I BELIEVE IN THE AGENDA’

Sens. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., introduced the Chief Herbert D. Proffitt Act. (Getty Images)

Despite serving in law enforcement for 55 years, Proffitt’s family members were denied benefits since he had retired prior to the attack.

“When a law enforcement officer is killed because of the work they did to keep our communities safe, it’s our responsibility to make sure their family is cared for,” Cortez Masto, a former law enforcement official, said in a statement. “I’m proud to introduce this critical piece of commonsense legislation to right the wrong Chief Proffitt’s family experienced and make sure it doesn’t happen to anyone else.”

The amendment would also apply to claims by former law enforcement officers who retired on or after Jan. 1, 2012.

EX-DEM SENATOR JON TESTER LINKS HIS 2024 LOSS TO KAMALA HARRIS’ POOR PERFORMANCE IN HIS STATE

“The loss of Chief Herbert D. Proffitt is a tragic reminder of the risk that follows our finest every day of their lives,” McConnell said. (Getty Images)

“The loss of Chief Herbert D. Proffitt is a tragic reminder of the risk that follows our finest every day of their lives,” McConnell said in a statement shared with Fox News Digital.

“This legislation plugs an important hole, ensuring the Proffitt family – and others like them – are supported and assured that the service and sacrifice of their loved ones are never forgotten,” the senator said.

“When a law enforcement officer is killed because of the work they did to keep our communities safe, it’s our responsibility to make sure their family is cared for,” Cortez Masto, a former law enforcement official, said. (Ellen Schmidt/AP Photo)

The bill is endorsed by several police advocacy groups, including the Fraternal Order of Police, the Nevada Association of Public Safety Officers, the Kentucky Sheriffs’ Association, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Foundation and Supporting Heroes.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

A mirrored version of the bipartisan legislation was introduced in the House last month by Reps. Andy Barr, R-Ky., and Dan Goldman, D-N.Y.